Getir, Turkish Food Delivery Company and Public Transportation Service Collab on NFC Payments
Innovation company from Turkey named Getir that deals with the food delivery and online grocery shopping and delivery services and Istanbulkart, the top-up public transport card creates a project by combining their technologies.
In addition to Apple Pay on IOS devices, Getir is said to have been the first app in the world to be able to make online payments using NFC technology within the scope of its partnership with Istanbulkart.
To promote the lives of Istanbulites, Getir and BELBIM AŞ came together. Istanbulkart was introduced as a payment option to Getir by using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology available on Android and iOS operating systems.
About Companies
Getir is a Turkish start-up that was founded in 2015. It provides an on-demand “ultra-fast” home delivery for supermarket goods through its smartphone app, in addition to a courier service for food deliveries from restaurants. Belbim is a subsidiary organization of the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul involved in research and development activities. Payment terminals, automated ticket vending machines, toll booth machines, electronic tokens, and tickets and their scanning machines are developed by the company.
In addition to Apple Pay on iPhone phones, Getir thus became the first smartphone application in the world to receive online payments with NFC technology, and from a local perspective, they became the first digital channel with Istanbulkart to allow mobile payments.
According to the details presented, after building their basket, Getir users can pick Istanbulkart, the city transportation card, among the payment methods and click on placing an order. By tapping their Istanbul cards on the back of their devices, they would then be able to quickly pay. By opening the NFC settings on Android phones, a transaction with Istanbulkart can be used, although it can be used on iPhone 7 and subsequent iPhone versions. Thus, with the option to pay for the purchases without the need for a credit or debit card, Istanbulkart provides a better shopping experience.
There is also a 10 percent discount campaign for healthcare workers, one of the communities that most use public transport, in this campaign, which was launched during the Covid-19 period. Via this partnership, healthcare workers will benefit from the initiative once a day, 8 times a month, with the account verified on their card through their phone number.
While many companies followed the digitalization vision and financial technology services trends, the municipality of Istanbul, which is one of the few big cities in the world, actually made a very innovative and flexible initiative to facilitate the lives of citizens.
Collaborations made in this direction offer fast, comfortable, and practical payment alternatives to many people living all over the world. Now, a card that can be a simple bus ticket has become a tool that can be used in payments within seconds by simply touching the phone. With these technology integrations, we witness the development of the world of payments and big city life, as well as the spread of the internet of things to all areas.
