Digital payment technologies are considered an enabler of smart city development. While the pandemic has accelerated the use of digital payments (or e-payments), it also highlighted the various economic and social benefits, efficiencies, and conveniences that digital payments can bring to emerging smart cities across multiple sectors. For citizens, digital payments provide convenience and time-savings when buying bus tickets or paying for utility bills. For governments, digital payments provide efficiency savings and the promise of higher revenue collection from its services (such as taxes, levies, and fines). For businesses, benefits can include higher sales, greater transparency, improved data analytics, and lower transactional costs.

This interactive webinar explored how digital payment solutions can support cities to improve urban living, as well as the barriers that cities face in transitioning to mainstreamed digital payments. Panelists shared their experiences in adopting digital payment technologies in their cities, and discuss emerging best practices and highlight specific use cases that can be scaled.

(Part 9 of the ASEAN Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund Webinar Series)