Resona Holdings (TYO:8308) and the credit card company JCB plan to launch pilot tests of a hands-free bus payment system in Japan as early as this fall, Nikkei reported Thursday.
The project, in partnership with Odawara Auto-Machine Mfg. Co. (TYO: 7314), is to develop a system using ultra-wideband wireless technology, allowing highly accurate location tracking of objects.
The system will register passengers' credit cards through a smartphone app, which the onboard equipment will connect wirelessly to the smartphone to process fares.
The technology is expected to be launched commercially in fiscal 2028.
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