China cities are upping their technology game in the quest to become smart cities as new payment methods continue to roll out for consumers' convenience.

These cities in the world's largest economy have now moved up another level, as they do away with not just cash, but also cards from their daily commuting.

A smartphone app for public transport payments has been introduced in over 10 Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen (Guangdong province), Lingnan (Guangdong province), Jilin province, and Wuhan (Hubei province).

Currently, the service is only available for Android phone users. Apple iPhone users are excluded because of Apple's policy of reserving contactless payment to its Apple Pay app, rather than granting access to third-party apps.

The "Virtual Smart Card"  Initiative

In the case of the capital Beijing, the "Virtual Smart Card" (手机一卡通) was rolled out at all underground train stations on Aug 14, after a pilot initiative earlier in the year.

Commuters can now pass the gantries at all train stations by just tapping their smartphones with an app, instead of using their transport cards.

The government-backed app after it has been downloaded, functions as the commuter's "virtual smartcard" using Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology.

To see how this is used in Beijing, this is the official promotional video from the Beijing Subway:

[video width="852" height="480" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2017/08/004jP398jx07caowOpjq010f01009Ccv0k01.mp4"][/video]

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Going cardless on buses

Besides underground trains, China is also implementing the "cardless" idea on other modes of transport, such as buses.

In some Chinese cities, commuters can use NFC technology and Quick Response (QR) code to take buses.

It has already been implemented in many cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, and Jinan (Shandong province).

Top image via Xiaomi@Weibo

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