Payments for popular water buffalo cart rides on remote islands in Okinawa Prefecture will soon become smoother thanks to contactless technology.
From Oct. 23, contactless payments by credit and debit cards, as well as smartphone apps, will be accepted at the ticket counter for the roundtrip rides across the shallow sea between the Iriomote and Yubu islands in Okinawa Prefecture, according to an announcement made Tuesday by Bank of The Ryukyus, a regional bank based in Naha, and other companies involved, including Sumitomo Mitsui Card.
The new payment option capitalizes on Sumitomo Mitsui's contactless settlement system for public transportation, making it unnecessary to purchase tickets in advance or to pay in cash. The cart operator's ticket counter work is, thus, expected to become less burdensome and more efficient.
Another Tokyo-based credit card firm JCB and transportation equipment maker Odawara Auto-Machine are also taking part in the first project in the country to make oxcart ride payments contactless, the project leader said.
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