Back in December, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama talked about his desire to launch an integrated smart card system, inspired by Hong Kong’s famous Octopus Card, that could be used by Jakarta citizens to access numerous government services using just one card.
Previously Ahok had suggested that such a card system might not be in place until mid-2017, but in a rare case of the government being way ahead of schedule, Governor Ahok now says that the Jakarta One Card will be test launched this June.
“In June, I will trial launch the Jakarta One [Card], I would expect that by 2019 that all of Jakarta will be able to use it for non-cash transactions,” Ahok said on Sunday as quoted by Kompas.
Citizens will be able to use the Jakarta One Card to make payments to the government, such as rent on subsidized house and fees for public transportation like the TransJakarta. It will also take over the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) that the government currently uses to disburse money for education and other government subsidies to families.
Ahok said that all Jakarta Citizens will eventually need to get the cards to access city services, which will also help the government track population and demographic data. He also said the program payment features were supported by all of Jakarta’s major banks.
In addition to the convenience the card should provide citizens, it should also help create more transparency in tracking government payments and prevent officials from illegally demanding “additional fees” for their services.
