CBA eyes mobility-as-a-service opportunity

CBA is in negotiations with more Australian states to enable alternative payment solutions across their public transport networks following the launch of a new pilot program across Adelaide’s tram fleet. 

CBA’s payment technology is part of a new pilot launched last month enabling local commuters to pay for their trip with a Visa and Mastercard debit or credit card, including digital wallets, rather than cash or metro card.

In NSW commuters have used the same contactless payment method, which turns card readers into payment acceptance devices, for more than 20 million journeys since the service launched in 2018.

The payment option provides an alternative to the Opal Card which was first introduced for Sydney ferries and light rail in March 2018, followed by Sydney trains in November 2018, and Sydney buses in September 2019.

The bank is now touting the success of the NSW project to drive conversations with other transport departments around the country. 

Sam Itzcovitz, General Manager for Merchant Solutions told iTnews the bank is in active conversations with other states and prides itself as being a leader in the space. 

"We are expecting more governments and more partnerships with governments from a CommBank perspective over the next weeks and months," Itzcovitz said. 

Beyond the public transport payment systems, the bank is also working with governments and other partners to develop a payment solution for emerging mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platforms, which connect various modes of travel into a single interface for planning and payment. 

"We are doing a lot of work to bring mobility-as-a-service to life. What you are seeing through NSW and Adelaide Metro is the first stop in terms of that concept,” Itzcovitz said.   

MaaS recognises that a commuter’s journey may require a number of different modes such as public transport, ridesharing apps or peer-to-peer rental services. MaaS solutions connect those journeys into a single experience and remove the need to individually engage with each travel provider. 

“MaaS is really bringing that together in one place and in one payment experience, where you can plan that journey and pay for that journey across several modalities and several different providers,” Itzcovitz said. 

"We are starting to have a number of conversations with government and with some of our other partners like Mastercard as to how we can really stitch together those various transit providers into a single experience for commuters, both from a planning and a payments perspective." 

"There's lots of potential in mobility-as-a-service over time and the bank is spending a lot of time thinking, planning and investing in that concept."