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Fortaleza, one of the biggest cities in Brazil’s North-East will begin accepting crypto payments for bus tickets towards the end of 2019. By paying for bus tickets in crypto, the city hopes to cut operational costs.
New Payment Methods Announced
According to a recent report, commuters will be able to pay for bus tickets using debit cards, credit cards, and crypto. This is intended to reduce the operation costs of running the ticketing system. According to the city’s transportation service, the system will not require any driver intervention for bank cards. For Crypto, payments will be made using an app on smartphones, which will generate a QR code to confirm each trip.
In the future, the city might add other cryptocurrencies apart from Bitcoin. However, they have yet to announce which other cryptocurrencies will be accepted. In the city, about 40% of people still use money when paying for fair. This is about twice the number of another bus fleet controlled by another group in the city.
Use of crypto in Brazil has continued to grow in recent months. Today, CoinBene, one of the largest exchanges in the nation has seen a lot of growth. The exchange launched a prepaid Mastercard that allows users to load Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other crypto coins.
Other Benefits of the System
Besides reducing operating costs, this system will help to cut down bureaucracy. It will also attract more users as payments become simpler. Meanwhile, the head of the Federation of Industries recently raised concern that citizens might start using crypto to evade taxes. This is after a new raft of proposed tax reforms was published.
While it is encouraging to see a use case for crypto in Brazil, true crypto adoption in the nation will only occur when major cities like Sao Paolo adopt crypto payments. If the national railroad jumped onto crypto, this would also be a great move.
Use of Crypto in the Public Sector is Gaining Momentum
Fortaleza is not the first city in the world to adopt crypto payments for its public transportation. In Argentina, 37 cities have started accepting crypto as payment for public transportation. Argentina’s government allows citizens to load up a smart contactless card with BTC. This was made possible via a partnership with Alto Viaje, a card-funding platform and Bitex, a fin-tech startup. The card is accessible in major cities across the nation, including Buenos Aires.
Japan has also embraced crypto payments for its public railway transport system. The Japan Railways Group plans to use crypto payments as part of its payment option. To do this, it will establish a partnership with a crypto payment system and a bank. This move is significant since the JR Group is the largest railway and subway company in Japan. Millions of people use their network daily.
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