Financial IC Card: Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Launches the "Chip Era" Convenience Journey

Financial IC Card: Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Launches the "Chip Era" Convenience Journey
　　Due to work, Wu Jun often had to travel back and forth between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, making "taking the train" a weekly "required course." Speaking about queuing for tickets, Wu Jun described it as "troublesome and time-consuming": "Normally, it takes more than ten minutes to queue at the window to buy tickets, but during Spring Festival, May Day, or peak weekend periods, it's common for the queue to exceed an hour." ”

　　Now, after obtaining a financial IC card, Wu Jun can directly tap his card at the station turnstile to enter the waiting room when taking the Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail. "With this financial IC card, I feel that riding the high-speed train now is as convenient as taking a bus—come and go anytime, and it feels very easy."

　　Mr. Xie, a businessman from Hong Kong, shared the same feelings as Wu Jun. Because the company's business is mainly in mainland China, Mr. Xie takes the Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail two or three times a week. Since he applied for ICBC Asia's financial IC card, the previously complicated procedures of preparing change, queuing for tickets, and presenting ID and Hong Kong/Macau resident cards have been easily simplified to "tapping the card" to enter the gate and get a number instantly.

　　"Life in Hong Kong is fast-paced, and everyone races against time, so people are used to using cards to eat, shop, and take transportation. This saves the hassle of using cash and is very safe. Now, mainland China has also started to popularize convenient IC cards, which is really convenient. Mr. Xie said.

　　To experience this convenience, the reporter recently took the Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail and experienced a "chip journey." Entering Shenzhen Railway Station, we avoided the bustling crowds and didn't queue at the ticket hall window to buy tickets, but instead followed passengers directly through security. After passing security, they hold their ICBC financial IC card and tap their card directly at the station entry gate to enter the waiting room. After a "beep," the "turnstile" dispensed a small ticket for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway (2.88, 0.01, 0.35%) "Harmony" ticket marked with departure time, train number, and seat number, combining queue purchase and entry ticket verification, eliminating the need for queue and verification. The entire process took less than one minute.

　　The reporter noticed that next to the entrance turnstiles, two ICBC financial IC card activation machines are prominently displayed, allowing first-time users to activate their cards themselves, eliminating the hassle of going to the counter.

　　After a 69-minute journey, the reporter group arrived at Guangzhou Station. Take out your financial IC card and simply tap it at the exit turnstile to exit quickly. Staff told us that if you need a reimbursement voucher, you can print it on the self-service voucher printer at the train station exit.

　　"The financial IC card jointly launched by Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (4.10, 0.05, 1.23%) that you hold uses the most advanced smart card technology. Thanks to its compact size, large capacity, strong reliability, support for contactless use, and fast payment, it can provide a full-process service from card tapping to seat retrieval - boarding to invoice printing." Li Xuemin, Deputy President of ICBC Shenzhen Branch, told reporters.

　　It turns out that ICBC Shenzhen Branch decided to seize the opportunity of bank card "chip replacement," leveraging the real-name system of financial IC cards to actively promote the "LuluTong" financial IC card cooperation plan to the Ministry of Railways and Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Co., Ltd., using financial IC cards as a medium to enable passengers to ride independently.

　　After joint marketing by ICBC headquarters and branches, the Ministry of Railways and Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Co., Ltd. agreed to pilot the implementation of financial IC card self-service rides on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed railway, making the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway "LuluTong" financial IC card project the only project to enable self-service rides using bank cards since the real-name ticketing system was implemented on June 1, 2011.

　　As the first financial IC card application project developed and promoted domestically based on industry standards, the ICBC Shenzhen Branch project team worked overtime multiple times during the project development and promotion process, solving technical challenges such as response distance, transaction time, gate reading, invoice printing, and information transmission for financial IC cards at railway turnstiles, laying a solid foundation for the successful launch of the project.

　　After the project is successfully put into operation, cardholders only need to use their card directly at the entrance turnstiles of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway to use contactless "card tapping" to enter the station and board the "Harmony" train, without needing to queue with their ID card to purchase paper train tickets.

　　"The Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail line from Shenzhen to Guangzhou transports about 40 million passengers annually, making it the busiest railway line in the country. The heavy passenger flow and difficulty in purchasing tickets have long troubled both passengers and railway operators. Xu Huiliang, director of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Information Technology Institute, explained, "With such a card, travelers save time, railway transport efficiency improves, operating costs and human resource investment are reduced, paper train tickets are saved, and low-carbon environmental protection is put into practice." ”

　　"The launch of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Financial IC Card project not only improves efficiency for railway departments, but also saves travel time costs for citizens and allows them to enjoy the convenience of a single card; As a bank, we provide customers with financial value-added services, enhance the bank's brand image, strengthen the core competitiveness of ICBC products, increase customer recognition and satisfaction, and achieve a true win-win situation. Li Xueming stated.

　　After experiencing the paperless ticketing process for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen railway, the reporter also used a financial IC card to redeem delicacies like Häagen-Dazs ice cream and KFC coffee at Shenzhen MixC, completing the shopping process with a simple "beep," allowing visitors to truly experience the convenience of a modern metropolis.

　　Li Xueming also told reporters that besides loading the Guangzhou-Shenzhen railway ticketing function onto IC cards, ICBC's Shenzhen branch is piloting functions such as parking fee payment, "Shenzhen All-in-One Card," and Yuetong card, and is promoting card-based dining and shopping in some factories and technology parks. The advancement of financial social security cards has also made considerable progress. "On the massive platform of this tiny chip, the convenience functions achievable by financial IC cards will be greatly expanded. In the future, the number of bank cards in our bags will decrease, but the performance and functions of the cards will become increasingly complete. ”

　　Today, in 47 pilot cities including Shanghai, Ningbo, and Guiyang, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, cinemas, parking lots, and small markets offer a brand-new payment method of "instant payment" with financial IC cards, bringing convenience to more and more people.

　　With the arrival of the "chip era," a small financial IC card not only improves people's lifestyles but is also quietly driving the era forward.