marco.alva@diariogestion.com.peNiubiz and Visa advance in the era of contactless payments in mass public transport in Lima and Callao.Of the 1,380 buses in the capital that already have the infrastructure to receive contactless payments with bank cards, Niubiz initially enabled 552 with the Visa MTT (Mobility Transport Transaction) certification."The positive thing about the certification is that it incorporates Lima into the club of more than 500 cities in the world that use this payment technology in their transportation systems and that it will provide users with more security and speed and the support of our brand," Gilberto Chaparro, general manager of Visa Peru, told Management.Rogelio Fernández, manager of Multi-Agent and Transportation Solutions at Niubiz, explained that the POS installed on the buses accept contactless payments from credit, debit and prepaid cards from banks, savings banks and finance companies.“The passenger approaches the card to the POS screen, the driver enters the fare, which varies depending on the distance of the trip, and hands him the ticket.It takes less than two seconds, which is less than the time it takes to exchange money to give a change, ”he said.The buses belong to 11 private transportation companies that operate on 12 routes and cover 15 districts of Lima and Callao, Chaparro said.It is sought that the number of buses with terminals for contactless payments continue to grow.According to a recent Visa survey, 78% of employed Peruvian users said they use public transportation at least three times a week to get to work.And more than 30% of those surveyed plan to use public transport more frequently in the next 12 months."The majority of Peruvians surveyed intend to find a contactless payment opportunity on public transport," added Chaparro.The Niubiz and Visa alliance also seeks to bring this payment system to public sector transport companies."We are already in talks, including technical advances, to enter the public sector as well," Fernández said.He estimated that this year or at the beginning of 2023 it could be extended to the road corridors managed by the Urban Transport Authority (ATU).And the next step would be to implement the option of contactless payments with bank cards in the Metropolitano and in the Lima Metro, Fernández said."We are already advancing in corridors and later with Metropolitano and Metro," he said.By the end of the year the goal is for 5% of bus fares to be paid for with contactless bank cards, he said.In the future, those percentages should reach 20-25% in the private sector and 50% in the public sector, he added.There will be dissemination campaigns for users, and also in 2023 they will seek to enter the most representative routes of the main cities of the country.Chaparro confirmed that the POS of the buses are enabled to receive contactless payments with watches, cell phones, rings, bracelets, among others, that have NFC technology.Peru is the third market in the region with the highest penetration of contactless payment with bank cards, said Gilberto Chaparro, general manager of Visa in Peru.These payments in shops or other establishments went from representing 20% ​​in April 2020 to 69.2% in June, according to data from Visa."The pandemic, with all the negatives it brought, I think it had some positive derivatives that have supported this new adoption of contactless payments," said the executive.More Peruvians have realized that it is faster and safer to pay with contactless cards and that it reduces the risk of being robbed or infected by covid, said Rogelio Fernández, manager of Multi-Agent Solutions and Transportation at Niubiz.Chaparro said that contactless payments with mobile phones and watches using Apple Pay have been growing in Peru.