Vietnam: JCB to Bring Tap-to-Pay Fares to Hanoi Metro Gates in Early 2027
Japan’s card network JCB has agreed to bring tap-to-pay fares to Hanoi’s metro, with a launch targeted for early 2027. Once it goes live, riders holding a JCB contactless card or a compatible phone or wearable will be able to tap straight in at the fare gates, with no need to buy a separate ticket or carry cash.
Key facts
- JCB International, the overseas arm of Japan’s JCB Co., signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hanoi Metro on 29 October 2026.
- The service, called JCB transit, is scheduled to launch in early 2027 on Hanoi’s urban railway network.
- Cardholders will tap a JCB contactless card or compatible device directly at metro fare gates.
- JCB says it has more than 181 million cardmembers, mostly in Asia, and about 72 million merchants in its acceptance network.
- Visa already runs open-loop tap-to-ride payments on Hanoi’s Line 2A and Line 3.1, launched in March 2026 with VietinBank as acquirer.
What is changing at the gates
Hanoi Metro opened Vietnam’s first metro line, Line 2A between Cat Linh and Ha Dong, in November 2021. A second route, Line 3.1 between Nhon and Hanoi Station, followed. Until recently, riders relied mainly on tickets and cards issued by the operator itself, bought at stations in Vietnamese dong (VND).
The system is now moving towards what the industry calls open-loop payments. Instead of a special transit card, riders use the same bank card or phone wallet they already carry, and the fare is charged to that card like any other purchase. Visa was first: in March 2026 it announced that its cardholders could tap and go on both Hanoi lines, working with state-owned VietinBank, which handles the card acceptance side for the operator.
The JCB deal adds a second international card brand. It is still at the MoU stage, meaning the two sides have agreed to work together but technical preparations are not yet finished. JCB says both parties will now complete those steps ahead of the planned launch.
Why it matters
JCB is aiming squarely at visitors. Its cards are issued mainly in Japan and elsewhere in Asia, and it named travellers from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as the main group that would benefit. Those are among the largest sources of tourists and business visitors to Vietnam, and many would rather tap a card they already use at home than queue for a ticket in an unfamiliar currency.
For Hanoi, accepting more card brands at the gate makes the metro easier to use for everyone, including locals with JCB cards from Vietnamese banks. It also fits Vietnam’s wider push to cut cash use in daily life, something JCB explicitly linked the project to.
For JCB, the deal is part of a steady push into public transport. Earlier in 2026 it introduced contactless payments on the Taipei Metro, and its cards are already accepted on Metro de Madrid and LA Metro. Transit is a valuable foothold for any card network: it turns a card into something people use every day, not only for occasional shopping.
The bigger regional picture is that open-loop transit is becoming normal across Asia. Riders in Singapore, Bangkok and other cities can already tap bank cards at gates, and Vietnam is now catching up with more than one network on board.
What to watch
- Launch timing: whether JCB transit goes live on schedule in early 2027, and on which lines first.
- More networks: whether Mastercard, UnionPay or domestic card schemes follow Visa and JCB onto Hanoi’s gates.
- Ho Chi Minh City: whether JCB seeks a similar deal for Vietnam’s southern metro, where Visa is already active.
Read more: ASEAN’s cross-border QR payments hit a record and Taiwan: DBS PayLah! now works via TWQR link with Singapore’s NETS.
Sources: JCB via JCN Newswire (October 2026); Fintech News Singapore (October 2026); Visa Vietnam (March 2026); Vietnam Investment Review (March 2026).
