MasterCard and Cubic to Make Mobile Devices the Remote Control for Global Cities

At Mobile World Congress, MasterCard today announced a global partnership with Cubic Transportation Systems, a leading provider for smart city solutions across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The alliance is designed to help the millions of daily commuters around the world experience faster, more convenient and personalized ways to get around, tapping into the power of their mobile devices.

With more than half of the world’s population already living in cities, many transportation systems have reached capacity. Transportation authorities are looking for ways to better manage existing demand and create investments in new infrastructure. The penetration of smart devices is opening up new opportunities for service operators to connect with transportation users before, during and after a journey – and in turn provide a more tailored and efficient experience.

By combining MasterCard’s leadership in everyday payments and loyalty management with Cubic’s “NextCity” platform the partners aim to develop solutions that:

• Provide individual travelers with real-time guidance on their mobile devices on the smartest way to travel, offering fare incentives if the system becomes congested or overcrowded.
• Enable transportation operators to offer flexible pricing based on system demand.
• Offer retailers at and around transportation hubs ways to alert travelers to personalized offers and rewards on the go.

As part of the agreement, MasterPass, MasterCard’s secure digital payment service, will be integrated with Cubic’s NextWave ticketing and journey planning app.

The partnership will help accelerate the conversion of the currently $200 billion cash payments into digital payments, saving operators cost for cash-handling and speeding up through-put. By introducing globally interoperable payment solutions for urban transportation systems, traveling between cities will become much easier, with no need to carry multiple tickets.

Today, MasterCard and Cubic are working together in cities such as Chicago and London. In London, just four months after the launch of contactless payments, more than half a million journeys a day on underground trains and buses are paid by a contactless bank card or mobile device, growing 10 percent each week.

“MasterCard and Cubic, both lead members in the Smart Cities Council, share a vision to improve quality of life for everyday citizens in cities and help authorities to better manage population growth and urban development,” said Will Judge, head of Urban Mobility, MasterCard Enterprise Partnerships. “Combining our expertise and reach allows us to ultimately drive greater value and make consumers’ lives easier and more enjoyable as they travel around and between connected cities.”

Matt Cole, executive vice president, strategy and business development of Cubic Transportation Systems, said: “Partnering with MasterCard elevates the offerings within our NextWave mobile solution to a new level, and strengthens our NextCity story to demonstrate to urban centers everywhere how serious we are about addressing their transportation challenges.”

Find a complete list of MasterCard’s news announcements from Mobile World Congress in our Digital Press Kit and follow us @MasterCardNews #WhatsNext to join the conversation.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com,is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About MasterCard Enterprise Partnerships

The MasterCard Enterprise Partnerships team has been formed to bring MasterCard’s existing assets, technology, network, reach, products and solutions to bear in areas that are outside MasterCard’s traditional domain. We are partnering with global market leaders who have significant depth of experience in their industries, combining their knowledge and infrastructure with our assets in order to drive real enterprise value.

About Cubic Transportation Systems

Cubic® Transportation Systems, Inc., is part of Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB). Cubic Corporation is the parent company of two major business segments. Cubic Global Defense is a leading provider of realistic combat training systems, secure communications, operations, maintenance, technical and other support services for the U.S. and allied nations.

Cubic® Transportation Systems, Inc., is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services for intelligent travel solutions. Cubic delivers integrated systems for transportation and traffic management, delivering tools for travelers to choose the smartest and easiest way to travel and pay for their journeys, and enabling transportation authorities and agencies to manage demand across the entire transportation network – all in real-time. Cubic specializes in design, development, manufacture, supply, installation, integration, services and information. Services provided by Cubic include on-site management, central systems, operations support, patron support, business support and field services.

Every year, more than 24 billion transportation payment transactions are processed using Cubic payment and information systems worldwide. Cubic has delivered over 20 regional back office operations which together integrate over 450 transport operators and serve over 38 million people every day in major markets around the world. Active projects include London; Brisbane (Southeast Queensland) region, Australia; New York/New Jersey region; Washington, D.C. /Baltimore/Virginia region; Los Angeles region; San Diego region; San Francisco region; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chicago; Atlanta region; Miami (South Florida) region; Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada; Sydney (New South Wales), Australia; Germany; and Scandinavia.

For more information about Cubic, see the company’s website at http://www.cubic.com.