South Africa's Standard Bank has embarked on a pilot of a multifunction payments card that features both prepaid transit and contactless debit card functionality.

Initially 1,000 commuters in the city of Durban will receive the NFC-enabled "Muvo" card, said an article at finextra.com. Muvo features the MasterCard PayPass app and MChip 4 data chip. Cardholders can load money for bus travel onto the chip at kiosks, then upon boarding a bus, simply tap the card on the on-board card reader to pay their fare.

Assuming a successful pilot, the card will be rolled out to 550,000 additional area commuters. Herman Singh, CEO of Standard Bank's innovation unit, Beyond Payments, said he expected the card to be a stepping stone to NFC-based mobile shopping.

"It is inevitable that we will all be using our phones to pay at merchants in the future," said Singh. "However it's important to recognise that this is a journey and not a destination — there will be no big bang launch, but eventually we will see all individuals routinely paying with phones at all merchants on the high street." 

For more on this topic, visit the EMV research center.