Visiting Singapore? There’s a good chance you can use Google Pay for the MRT now

If you’re visiting Singapore (or if you live there) you’ll likely find out (or already know) how useful the metro system is for getting around. You can buy paper tickets, but it’s much easier to use one of the prepaid accounts to access the subway.

As a visitor, this is a bit of a pain in the neck; not only do you have to get one of these travel passes, but you have to top it up to be able to use it. Contrast this with some systems elsewhere – e.g. the London Underground – which lets visitors tap on/off with a credit card, and you can see how Singapore’s MRT is a little bit visitor unfriendly.

Fortunately, this is all about to change.

Thanks to recent changes introduced by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, travelers can use contactless MasterCards to tap on for travel. As these cards quite often work with Google Pay, this means you can travel with nothing more than your mobile.

As with the London Underground, simply unlock your phone and tap to pay with your supported card. Of course, at this stage, it is just MasterCard, so if your only cards are Visa, you’ll have to wait. The good news is that Visa support is coming later this year.