# Transforming Urban Mobility ## Foreword ### by Nick Mackie Vice President and Global Head of Urban Mobility, Visa It perhaps goes without saying that our cities face growing challenges. With increasing urbanization, the populations of our cities continue to rise, intensifying pressure on infrastructure and services. Increasing urbanization is intrinsically connected to urban mobility, enabling people to get around in our cities for work, leisure, and education. As the backbone of a city, urban mobility strives to deliver all three pillars of sustainability: our people, our economy, and our environment. We recognize cities that strive to be more inclusive, more connected, more resilient, and we actively support them in delivering these outcomes. We create value by partnering with like-minded cities around the planet to share our knowledge and expertise, facilitate ecosystem-wide standardization and deliver world-class services that help achieve shared goals and outcomes—including improving life in our cities. Visa has spent the last 15 years working to help simplify and streamline the process of modernizing fare collection systems across all forms of urban mobility, from traditional publicly-owned road and rail mass transportation, to privately-run micro-mobility options such as bike and scooter sharing. Our efforts are having an impact on global urban mobility: - We are actively involved in more than 500 urban mobility projects around the globe - We have helped public and private transportation operators (PTOs) lower their ticketing overhead, while boosting ridership and improving passenger experiences - We are continually utilizing our global network and capabilities to transform the way people get from A to B, improving connections between people, enterprises, and governments. And when it comes to payments innovation, over a third of all Visa transactions globally are contactless. We have issued over 1 billion tokens to enable secure mobile payments with contactless or in-app. These new ways to pay have fundamentally changed the way we pay for goods and services, and their synergy with urban mobility could not be clearer. ## Transforming Urban Mobility Visa’s value proposition in urban mobility stems from three core pillars: ### Products & Services At the heart of our capabilities is VisaNet, the world's leader in digital payments which is helping to digitize economies everywhere, creating value beyond the transaction. ### Ecosystem Leadership Interfacing with VisaNet, we have defined a set of highly flexible frameworks optimized for urban mobility operators in alignment with their needs and vision. These frameworks set out our stringent standards and requirements and are supported by a Visa Ready for Transit program that has primed 150+ technology partners to fully meet them. ### Global Expertise Our teams around the world have accumulated vast knowledge and experience in urban mobility and have become instrumental in facilitating the delivery of many game-changing projects. Our custom-designed, globally standardized and scalable Global Delivery Framework helps ensure all projects are set up and run in a way that delivers consistent outcomes and value. At the point of launch of new services, we can take advantage of the Visa brand—named as the fifth most valuable brand in the world—and network, to encourage uptake and accelerate usage. ## Specialized Advisory ### Explosive Growth In countries around the world there has been an unprecedented movement of people to urban environments. Today, nearly 54% of people worldwide live in cities, up from 30% in 1950. With an estimated three million people moving to cities every week, the global urban population is expected to reach 68% by 2050. While COVID-19 may impact these projections, cities will remain vital centers of commerce and population. With tremendous growth comes opportunities to mitigate the effects of pollution, congestion, financial barriers for underbanked and unbanked, and the pressure on aging infrastructure. ### Energy Use and Pollution Studies show that cities presently consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce between 60-75% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Not surprisingly, the major contributor is transportation—with passenger vehicles accounting for 70% of emissions and 50% of urban air pollution. On the current trajectory, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are on track to double by 2050. ### Congestion Congestion presents a related issue, as many of the world’s cities were simply not designed to handle the present volume of vehicular traffic. In fact, research shows that 46% of commuters to urban centers have seen their commute times increase over the past five years. Underbanked and unbanked individuals often struggle with the costs of using public transport and therefore may lack access to a network that is needed for economic opportunity. This lack of access can contribute to further disenfranchisement and can restrict overall city health and growth. Ensuring transit services meet the needs of residents and visitors alike is a goal for all cities seeking to optimize their networks and improve overall urban health. Congestion results in loss of time and money. In 2019: - U.K. drivers lost a total of £5.2B and an average of 115 hours per commuter - U.S. drivers lost a total of $88B and an average of 99 hours per commuter ### Aging Infrastructure As metropolitan populations grow, it’s important for both prosperity and quality of life that cities improve the efficiency and efficacy of their infrastructure and that they ensure solutions implemented to access their services are frictionless and future-proof. Particularly in light of the recent pandemic, where restrictions imposed to safeguard the well-being of our residents significantly reduced the use of public transportation, an investment in infrastructure is crucial to drive efficiencies in the short- as well as the long-term. ## Moving Forward The key to success for cities is the ability to move people and goods quickly and easily, every day. Making significant improvements to public and private transportation systems will require cooperation from a wide range of entities, from think tanks and public authorities to private corporations, large and small. This is why Visa is developing technology at a global scale and forging partnerships capable of addressing these challenges and helping individuals and cities thrive. ### Visa Urban Mobility Visa is the world’s largest payment network, with over 3.6 billion cards and more than 11.6 trillion dollars in annual volume transacted in 200+ countries. Our corporate mission is to connect the world through our innovative and highly-secure network, so that individuals, businesses, and economies may thrive. In urban mobility, Visa is committed to helping cities create efficient, inclusive, and sustainable door-to-door commuting experiences enabled by simple, convenient, and secure digital payment solutions: Visa Urban Mobility. ### A Better Way: Connected, Door-to-Door Journeys Visa is actively working with cities, urban planners, transportation authorities, operators, and solution providers to reimagine the urban travel experience with a focus on inclusive, sustainable, interconnected, multi-modal transportation. By combining traditional and emerging mobility modalities that are delivered by both public and private operators, these visionaries are creating transportation networks that are efficient, accessible, and resilient. These networks also deliver a more open and seamless customer experience that is largely enabled by secure, frictionless fare payment and collection systems—the kind provided by Visa’s Urban Mobility solutions. More connected and convenient payment options encourage ridership, making cities more livable and sustainable and paving the way for enjoyable and efficient door-to-door journeys where people get to be where they need to be in a minimum amount of time. ## Visa’s Urban Mobility Value Proposition Visa offers a wide range of urban mobility products, services, and frameworks that were developed with deep technical know-how and years of experience. Our global expertise provides reliability as a trusted partner in the urban mobility arena and the creation of inclusive, secure, seamless, and ultra-efficient travel experiences. ### Visa’s Products and Services Visa offers developers access to a range of Visa services for building and deploying new experiences, including gateway, data and insights, tokenization, risk management, fare processing and calculation, debt recovery, and other capabilities. Visa has multiple solutions to support a fast, easy, and secure commuter experience: - **Cybersource Transit Solutions**: proven data-driven solutions that can help you grow your business are available through Visa Analytics Platform. Visa Analytics Platform offers fast and secure access to anonymized data and produces real results in the areas of core business and emerging topics by helping you reduce fraud, improve efficiencies, and much more. - **Cybersource for Transit**: Visa’s Cybersource is a global payment management platform that enables urban mobility operators, acquirers, and solution providers to rapidly deploy a reliable, scalable, and secure digital and contactless offering. Unlike many processors, Cybersource supports the Mobility & Transport Transaction framework, thereby providing flexibility and avoiding unnecessary issuer declines. One connection to Cybersource provides access to 130+ acquirers worldwide, including VPC (Visa Platform Connect), a compelling offering to facilitate fast deployment, plus a suite of risk management and value-added services across the various sales channels. - **Pay-in-Advance Solutions**: Visa offers a suite of Pay-in-Advance travel solutions that seamlessly complement contactless pay-as-you-go (PAYG) travel. These solutions help address customers who do not have or prefer not to use EMV Contactless cards and support the complexities of passes or season tickets. ### Benefits of Urban Mobility Transformation Reliable, secure, open, multi-modal transportation offers advantages to all parties within the urban mobility ecosystem. Benefits to cities, transport operators, and customers include: #### City Benefits - **Digitization Transparency**: Digital payments increase accountability and tracking, lessening the risk of corruption and theft. - **Improved Security**: Digital payments and ticketing can reduce fraud and secondary sales. - **Data-Driven Insights**: Digital payments allow operators to capture all journeys and associate them to the same ‘account,’ revealing insights into ridership trends that can be used to optimize existing service and introduce targeted new services. - **More Liveable Cities**: Carbon emissions and other forms of pollution can be reduced as cities and transportation operators increase ridership on public and shared transportation. - **Inclusivity**: Shifting to digital payments for riders presents numerous ways for cities and transportation operators to increase access for those riders in greater financial need. - **Cost Savings**: Agencies that institute contactless payments are able to reduce fare collection expenditures by more than 30%. - **Improved Cash Flow**: Account-based ticketing (ABT) systems allow operators to manage customers’ right to travel by holding their account information directly, allowing for same-day revenue settlement. - **Increased Ridership**: Improving the customer experience and making it easier for the customer to use public transport has been shown to boost ridership and revenues. ### The Way Forward Visa is committed to helping cities, transportation authorities and operators, private travel entities, and solution providers create efficient and sustainable, door-to-door travel experiences through connected, secure digital payment solutions. Transforming urban mobility through the next generation of payment solutions offers attractive benefits for operators, commuters, and cities alike, while delivering the practical needs of supporting residents in a liveable city. To learn more about Visa’s Global Urban Mobility solutions, visit: visa.com/urbanmobility --- # References [1] BrandZ, Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2020, July 2020 [2] United Nations 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects [3] International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2015 World Migration Report [4] Visa, “The Future of Transportation Mobility in the Age of the Megacity,” page 5 [5] United Nations Environment Programme, “Cities and climate change” webpage, accessed 19 December 2019: [https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/cities/cities-and-climatechange](https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/cities/cities-and-climatechange) [6] [https://www.weforum.org/press/2019/09/world-economic-forum-launches-global-new-mobility-coalition-to-cut-transport-emissions-by-95-and-reduce-commute-costs-by-40/](https://www.weforum.org/press/2019/09/world-economic-forum-launches-global-new-mobility-coalition-to-cut-transport-emissions-by-95-and-reduce-commute-costs-by-40/) [7] Visa, “The Future of Transportation Mobility in the Age of the Megacity,” page 8 [8] INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard [9] Ibid. [10] [http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-marks-millionth-omny-tap](http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-marks-millionth-omny-tap) [11] Chunyan Tang, Avishai Ceder and Ying-En Ge, “Optimal public-transport operational strategies to reduce cost and vehicle’s emission,” PLOS ONE, August 1, 2018 [12] Judith Lau, et al., “Integrated Multimodal Evaluation of Transit Bus Emissions in Toronto, Canada,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board No. 2216, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, 2011, pp. 1-9 [13] World Bank Blog, Is public transportation affordable?, May 1, 2014 [14] “Digital Finance For All: Powering Inclusive Growth In Emerging Economies,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2016 [15] Microsoft, Digital transformation in public transportation: How governments can better meet travelers needs [16] Visa, Cashless Cities, Realizing the Benefits of Digital Payments [17] Visa survey of 1,000 NYC public transportation customers [18] Andre Carrel and Joan L. Walker, “Understanding future mode choice intentions of transit riders as a function of past experiences with travel quality,” Working Paper from University of California Berkeley Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, May 25, 2015 [19] Ibid. [20] Markets and Markets, Contactless Payment Market by Component, Solutions and Services – Global Forecast to 2025, March 2020 [21] Visa Global Urban Mobility Case Studies, February 9, 2020 [22] Visa press release, “Contactless payments are biggest improvement to public transport experience, say UK commuters,” July 15, 2019 [23] Visa survey of 1,000 NYC public transportation customers [24] Transport for London (TfL) 2017 [25] MTA press release, MTA Marks Millionth OMNY Tap, August 13, 2019 [26] [http://www.theforentine.net/news/2019/07/ataf-contactless-payment/](http://www.theforentine.net/news/2019/07/ataf-contactless-payment/) [27] MetroRio data; April 2019