The collaboration, unveiled Monday at a smart cities conference in New York, would fold Mastercard's payment and security technology into the trip-planning and ticketing capabilities of Kisio. A news release from Mastercard promised the ability for passengers to search, book and pay for their entire trip all in a single app, albeit one that is yet to be developed.
It will be a project for City Possible, an initiative pioneered by Mastercard and recently joined by Kisio in which companies and governments collaborate on making cities more inclusive and sustainable. In the coming months, Mastercard and Kisio will choose cities from the City Possible global network to participate in creating and piloting a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform capable of fully integrating with local transit authorities.
“Working with over 150 cities around the world, we have improved the transit experience for residents and visitors while delivering efficiencies for operators,” said Miguel Gamiño Jr., head of global cities at Mastercard, in a statement. “Together with Kisio and our other City Possible partners, we’re ready to take on the next mobility challenge, co-creating ‘mobility-as-a-service’ options that make tech truly work for people.”
This partnership with Kisio is the latest in a series of projects by Mastercard to expedite travel within global cities. Since partnering with mass transit agencies, car manufacturers, travel companies and other mobility providers in several states over the past five years, Mastercard has created transit solutions in 16 cities, with “tap-and-go” payments on subway and bus systems in New York City set to launch later this year.
Mastercard also holds a minority investment in Masabi, a mobile ticketing company that allows people to book buses and trains through Uber.
