Destinations news Greece Launches Contactless Payments on Buses in 33 Cities and Islands by GTP editing team 4 May 2023 written by GTP editing team 4 May 2023 3 comments Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 43 Commuters in 33 Greek cities and on the islands will be able to make contactless payments on public buses, Visa announced this week. The country’s KTEL intercity bus service partnered with Visa and NBG Pay implementing for the first time in Greece contactless payments on public transport with locally-issued or international credit, debit and prepaid cards. The move aims to improve the experience of millions of passengers, helping them save time and at the same time encourages the use of public transport in city centers for more sustainable transport. Under the new smart system, commuters will be able to pay their ticket by swiping their card, mobile phone or watch at ticket machines. “Public transport is vital for city economies. Passengers and visitors, from Greece and abroad rely on them to get to work, head to local businesses to buy necessities, or for sightseeing and entertainment. In 2022, the Visa network processed more than 1 billion contactless payments worldwide on mass transportation,” said Sevi Vassileva, Visa general manager for Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Israel, “As tourism recovers, this technology is expected to further improve the travel experience of those visiting Greek cities. With more than 550 cities internationally already in the program, we are delighted to offer our global expertise to Greece as well,” she added. “The implementation of the contactless payment program is an upgrade and modernization of the urban KTEL services to passengers and provides added value as it simplifies the ticketing process,” said Panhellenic Federation of Urban Transport President Michalis Sakellariou. Join the 15,000+ travel executives who read our newsletter Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post Marketing Greece Announces Management Changes, Appoints Nikos Diamantopoulos as GM next post Report: Investments of Over €416m in Sea Tourism Infrastructures in the Adriatic You may also like Test post 6 June 2025 Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 3 comments iand67 22 May 2023 - 16:14 As well as a list of cities /islands it would be helpful if the KTEL group of companies could have a decent website showing a timetable with the possibility of booking a ticket. https://www.ktelevias.gr/ – this has got to be one of the worst websites I have even used. In September (2023) I want to travel from Skopelos to Athens via Ferry & then bus from Mantoudi, they have a big banner advert on their own website promoting this route, so natuarlly you would think you’d be able to book it. Think again, in true left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing it is not possible to find any information about this service. Seriously poor show! Reply Stevie 6 May 2023 - 18:53 Would it not be more useful to implement contactless payment ONBOARD the bus, rather than having to orienteer our way to a ticket machine? Or would that feel too much like dragging Greece kicking and screaming into the 21st century? Reply Φώτης 6 May 2023 - 13:41 A list of the 33 cities in question would be nice. Reply Leave a Reply to Φώτης Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ
