![Touch and Pay Technologies [TAP] software allows Nigerians to pay for interstate trips](https://techpression.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/E305112E-8C61-43D0-AB45-A33B33907CDA.jpeg)
Touch and Pay Technologies [TAP], a Nigerian fintech company and the largest processor of micro-transactions in Africa, has promised that travelling from Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, to other parts of the country will be easier and cheaper for everyone.
Passengers can now pay for their trips with the Cowry app, even if they are going through more than one state. All official and informal interstate travel operators in the city can now use the service.
TAP’s easy-to-use interstate booking feature on the Cowry app handles payments and seat assignments automatically. It also collects useful information about how and when people book trips, which can be used by transportation companies to improve their services.
There are now more than a million trips between states every day in the country, and 40% of those trips start or end in Lagos State. Passengers can now use TAP’s state-of-the-art payment and booking system every year without having to use cash. The new digital technology puts an emphasis on protecting the earth and making services better.
In addition to launching the digital payment solution for interstate travel, TAP has partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation to certify and vet all inter-city bus parks in the state. The state government and operators now have a uniform system for managing transportation routes, schedules, capacity, and prices.
Read also: ‘Touch and Pay’ Plans National Expansion Following Seed Funding Round
TAP’s transit improves both safety and speed
The suggested transport system aims to improve efficiency, safety, and security by adding key features like standard and licenced parks and a single dashboard for emergencies and quick responses. Bus owners and drivers will benefit from a cashless system, access to bus funding based on transportation data, and new incentives for mobility companies to take part.
A cashless system, data and credit advance systems, and a single booking platform would be available to commuters. A new platform that connects credit, private bus owners, and mobility firms will increase third-party participation and system efficiency.
TAP’s own software will manage and process payments for parks and transportation in the state. It will also give commuters safe identification and combine its APIs into the Cowry Card mobile app.
TAP will give the state government, fleet owners, bus drivers, and union-management effective micro-transaction solutions to cut down on income losses caused by old booking methods.
Nigerian travelers in the 21st century can now pre-book and reserve tickets, check prices, and stay safe from theft and bribery. Insurance partnerships protect tourists’ belongings.
Touch and Pay Technologies co-founder and CEO Olamide Afolabi remarked, “TAP is happy to be the first service to make transport in Lagos fair for everyone.” To avoid lines, commuters must obtain tickets ahead of time. Bus trips used to be booked and paid for at booths. That’s changed. Customers flying between states can now buy tickets and choose their seats without leaving home.
Touch and Pay Technologies co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Michael Oluwole stated, “Our interstate booking feature offers commuters convenience and enables transport providers to invest in interstate travel.” Cashless transactions save transportation costs. Our new software streamlines public transportation for commuters and vendors.
Who started ‘Touch and Pay’?
Olamide Afolabi, Michael Oluwole, and Kabir Yabo started TAP in 2019. It was the first payment company in Nigeria to set up a system that allowed contactless payment cards to be used on buses and boats.
The company keeps up its history of coming up with new ideas by letting Nigerians use contactless payment cards for national travel. Most people don’t have bank accounts, but TAP is making it easier for them to get money by taking micropayments of between 10 cents and $10.
Touch and Pay Technologies Limited is a committed new-age IT service firm dedicated to quality and innovation at low prices using efficient procedures and methodologies.
By utilizing the use of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, we integrate digital technology services to help communicate ideas, products, services, and information through end-to-end business solutions, from ideation, prototyping, production, quality checking, product launches, and maintenance.
TAP was the first payment infrastructure company in Nigeria to provide payment infrastructure that allowed contactless payment cards to be used on buses and ferries.