The partnership will see Mastercard integrate its digital payment gateway infrastructure into One Network’s newly launched Apple and Android smartphone app, allowing motorway commuters to top-up their M-Tag cards in advance from anywhere using their mobile devices. The newly developed app will also enable motorists to review their travel history and check their balance in real-time.
Every year, over three hundred million vehicles travel and pay Toll Tax on Pakistan’s motorways. M-Tag uses RFID technology (radio-frequency identification) to automatically and digitally deduct credit from commuters’ prepaid M-Tag accounts as they pass through RFID-enabled toll lanes. With the integration of Mastercard’s digital mobility payment solutions, commuters can add credit whenever and wherever is most convenient to them through the new application without interrupting their journeys.
Commenting on the partnership, Khalid Elgibali, Division President, Middle East & North Africa,Mastercard, said: “As a trusted partner to the government of Pakistan, we are delighted to integrate Mastercard’s digital payment mobility solutions into One Network’s electronic toll collection system and smartphone application. Mastercard will continue to work with our partners to build a digital payments ecosystem that serves the businesses and people of Pakistan through simple, safe and seamless solutions that keep people and the economy moving.”
The Chief Executive Officer of One Network, Mr. Asif Siddique said: “We are delighted to announce that now commuters can easily recharge their M-Tag account through our Mobile App. Partnering with Mastercard to simplify toll tax payments for the millions of commuters across Pakistan’s road network bring us a step forward in driving smart transformation in the country and enriching the lives of our citizens.”
The CEO Frontier Works Organization, Mr. Kamal Azfar, joined the signing ceremony at Dubai Expo 2020, where he expressed his support and emphasized the Organization’s drive to make Pakistan’s motorways congestion-free using cashless toll collection.
The widespread adoption of digital payments for M-Tag usage in Pakistan will serve as a broad economic enabler that speeds the flow of goods, boosts tourism and further advances financial inclusion.
The collaboration – the latest in a series of strategic partnerships that have cemented Mastercard’s role as a key enabler of digitization across Pakistan – will also see Mastercard drive visibility and adoption of the new application across multiple media channels.
Ghana
This is a system we can replicate in Ghana – but because of the politics around jobs for the many young people working as toll collectors in the various road tollbooths across the country, it was not even mentioned in Ghana’s ongoing digitalization programme.
As a result, even though the toll collectors issue some automated receipts, because motorist don’t often check, the toll collectors sometime give receipts with date and time stamps that do not match the date and time it was actually given. There are some tollbooths where the toll collectors sometimes master the courage and issues manual receipts, which give room for corruption.
