Yikatong
A stored-value contactless smart card primarily used to pay for public transportation in Beijing.
Last updated October 9, 2026
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Overview
Yikatong, formally known as the Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card, is a stored-value contactless smart-card system serving Beijing, China. Its name translates roughly as “one-card pass,” reflecting its original purpose of consolidating payment for multiple forms of municipal transportation. The card is used principally on the Beijing subway and municipal bus network, and it has also been accepted for taxi payments and other transport-related applications. The system followed pilot smart-card projects and entered service at the end of 2003 on Beijing Subway Line 13 and selected bus routes. Its initial adoption was limited because the card could be used in relatively few places, availability was restricted, and the required deposit was considered high by some passengers. A major expansion took place on 10 May 2006, when the entire Beijing subway system and all Beijing buses began accepting Yikatong. The expansion also replaced traditional paper monthly passes and broadened the locations where cards could be purchased and recharged. This made the card substantially more useful as a daily transit-payment instrument. On 16 May 2006, the system recorded 4,471,800 transactions, illustrating the scale of the transition once network coverage became comprehensive. Yikatong was subsequently extended to taxis. Some taxis accepted the card during 2006, and from the beginning of August 2008 all Beijing taxis were required to accept Yikatong as a fare-payment method. The system was also expected to support additional uses such as parking payments and expressway tolls, although the card’s best-known role remains public transportation. The card is purchased with a CNY 20 deposit, generally at Beijing subway ticket counters, selected bus stations, and other authorized outlets. Users can add value in increments of CNY 10, up to a stated stored-value ceiling of CNY 1,000. The deposit may be refunded when the card is returned, subject to applicable conditions, and the balance remains valid for up to three years after the last activity. Yikatong provides a 50% discount on ordinary municipal bus fares, with exceptions for certain special or flat-fare routes. It does not ordinarily provide a comparable discount on subway or taxi fares. Separate unlimited-ride passes are available for one, two, three, five, or seven days, covering most metro and bus services but excluding the Capital Airport Express and Daxing Airport Express. The system became a significant part of Beijing’s urban mobility infrastructure. By the end of 2011, 41.76 million cards had been issued. Beginning in 2022, card use and issuance were linked to an individual’s Beijing Health Kit as part of public-health controls associated with China’s Zero-COVID policies. According to the referenced account, the linkage continued after the formal end of Zero-COVID and created additional barriers for some foreign visitors: people without a Chinese National ID or permanent-resident ID and without a mainland Chinese mobile number could not use automated kiosks to purchase or top up a card and instead had to use staffed service counters. Yikatong therefore combines the characteristics of a transit fare medium, a stored-value payment product, and a municipal smart-city service.
History
Yikatong emerged from Beijing’s experiments with smart-card technology for public transportation. After pilot projects demonstrated the practicality of contactless fare collection, the system was introduced at the end of 2003 on Subway Line 13 and selected bus routes. In its early phase, Yikatong had several limitations: passengers could not use it throughout the transport network, cards were not always easy to obtain, and the deposit increased the upfront cost. These factors kept adoption below the level of a universal transit medium. The decisive development came on 10 May 2006, when Beijing extended Yikatong acceptance to the entire subway system and all municipal buses. The change also ended the role of traditional paper monthly passes and expanded purchasing and recharge access through a wider network of commercial and transit outlets. Once passengers could use one card across the city’s principal public-transport modes, the product became substantially more convenient. The system processed 4,471,800 transactions on 16 May 2006, only days after the network-wide expansion. Yikatong’s scope then moved beyond buses and rail. Some Beijing taxis began accepting the card in 2006, and all taxis were required to accept it from early August 2008. Further possible applications included parking fees and expressway tolls. Although these extensions supported the broader idea of a municipal payment card, public transportation remained the system’s central use case. The card operates as a stored-value instrument. A customer pays a CNY 20 deposit, loads value in CNY 10 increments, and can hold up to CNY 1,000 on the card. The deposit can be refunded when the card is returned under the applicable refund rules. Stored value remains usable for as long as three years after the last transaction. The principal fare incentive is a 50% reduction on ordinary bus fares within Beijing, subject to exclusions for certain special or flat-fare routes. Subway and taxi fares generally do not receive the same discount. Users can also obtain one-, two-, three-, five-, or seven-day unlimited passes for eligible metro and bus services, excluding the Capital Airport Express and Daxing Airport Express. The system reached large-scale circulation: 41.76 million cards had been issued by the end of 2011. In 2022, access to card purchase and top-up services became connected with Beijing’s Health Kit during the city’s pandemic-control regime. The referenced account states that this arrangement continued after Zero-COVID ended, requiring some foreign visitors without Chinese National ID or permanent-resident ID and a mainland Chinese mobile number to use staffed counters rather than automated kiosks. This episode illustrates how Yikatong’s infrastructure became connected not only with fare collection but also with wider municipal identity and public-health systems. Today, Yikatong is best understood as Beijing’s long-running contactless transit-payment brand. Its significance lies less in a single consumer product than in the integration of fare collection across a major urban transport network. It occupies a role comparable in broad function to other metropolitan transit cards such as Hong Kong’s Octopus, London’s Oyster, Singapore’s CEPAS-based systems, and New York’s OMNY, while retaining a specifically Beijing-centered operating scope.
- 2022
Health Kit linkage affects access
[1]Yikatong purchase and top-up access became tied to Beijing Health Kit requirements during China’s Zero-COVID controls.
- 2011
More than 41 million cards issued
[1]By the end of the year, 41.76 million Yikatong cards had been issued.
- 2008
Taxi acceptance made mandatory
[1]From the beginning of August, all Beijing taxis were required to accept Yikatong for fare payment.
- 2006
Network-wide subway and bus acceptance
[1]On 10 May, the card became accepted throughout Beijing’s subway system and on all Beijing buses, replacing traditional paper monthly passes.
- 2006
Major transaction milestone
[1]Yikatong recorded 4,471,800 transactions on 16 May, shortly after full network acceptance began.
- 2006
Taxi acceptance begins
[1]Some Beijing taxis began accepting Yikatong during 2006.
- 2003
Initial Yikatong launch
[1]Following smart-card pilot projects, Yikatong entered service on Beijing Subway Line 13 and selected bus routes at the end of 2003.
Products and positioning
A municipal, interoperable transit-payment card designed to simplify fare payment across Beijing’s public transportation network and provide discounted access to ordinary bus services.
Contactless stored-value transit card · 2003
Yikatong card
The core Yikatong product is a contactless stored-value card for Beijing public transportation. It can be purchased at subway ticket counters, selected bus stations, and authorized outlets. Users load value in CNY 10 increments, with a stated maximum balance of CNY 1,000. The card provides a 50% discount on ordinary municipal bus fares, subject to route exceptions, while subway and taxi fares generally do not receive the same discount. The card can also be returned for a deposit refund under applicable conditions.
Unlimited public-transport pass
Yikatong short-term pass
Yikatong offers time-limited unlimited-ride passes with one-, two-, three-, five-, and seven-day validity periods. These passes are intended for short-term users and cover eligible Beijing metro and bus services. The Capital Airport Express and Daxing Airport Express are excluded from the stated coverage, so travelers using those services may need a separate fare arrangement.
Stored-value top-up service · 2003
Yikatong recharge service
The recharge service allows cardholders to add money to their Yikatong cards through transit and commercial outlets, including staffed counters and automated machines where available. Top-ups are made in multiples of CNY 10 and are subject to the card’s stated balance ceiling. Access rules became more complex for some foreign visitors after the system was linked with Beijing Health Kit requirements.
Brand decisions
2022
Link Yikatong access with Beijing Health KitOtherBackground
During China’s Zero-COVID controls, Beijing connected transport-related services with public-health and identity-management systems.
Action taken
Yikatong purchase and top-up access was tied to an individual’s Beijing Health Kit. The referenced account states that some foreign visitors without qualifying Chinese identity documents and a mainland Chinese mobile number could no longer use automated kiosks.
Aftermath
Affected visitors had to use staffed cashier booths, and the linkage reportedly remained after the formal end of Zero-COVID.
2008
Make Yikatong acceptance compulsory in taxisStrategyBackground
After some taxis began accepting Yikatong in 2006, Beijing continued integrating the card into the city’s transport-payment infrastructure.
Action taken
From the beginning of August 2008, all Beijing taxis were required to accept Yikatong for fare payments.
Aftermath
The requirement extended the card beyond buses and rail into another major urban transport mode.
2006
Move from pilot coverage to citywide transit acceptanceStrategyBackground
The early system had limited usefulness because it was accepted only on selected routes and was not widely available. Beijing sought to make the card a practical replacement for paper monthly passes.
Action taken
On 10 May 2006, acceptance was extended to the entire subway system and all Beijing buses, while sales and recharge access was expanded.
Aftermath
The broader network substantially improved the card’s utility and was followed by a sharp increase in transaction activity, including 4,471,800 transactions on 16 May 2006.
Recent events
Reported
Systex and iPASS launch "Good Gift Voucher" platform on iPASS MONEY APP[5]
Systex announced it partnered with iPASS to launch a new "Good Gift Voucher" platform on the iPASS MONEY APP, integrating electronic vouchers, mobile payment and membership services with a green points reward mechanism offering up to 10% back, capped at 200 points per person per month, running until December 31.
Reported
iPASS Money waives interbank fees for Ukraine relief donations[6]
iPASS announced that donations made through iPASS Money to the Ukraine relief account during the government-announced project period would not incur interbank transfer fees. The waiver was retroactive to March 2, and previously charged fees were to be returned to customers by the end of the month following each transaction date.
Reported
LINE Pay exits its Ipass shareholder position[7]
LINE Pay exited its position as a shareholder of Ipass during November 2021. Ipass said the shareholding adjustment was a matter of LINE Pay’s corporate strategy and that cooperation would continue.
- Unconfirmed
LINE Pay forms cross-border mobile payment alliance[8]
LINE Pay announced an alliance with iPASS and international mobile payment brands, including LINE Pay Japan, Rabbit LINE Pay, Naver Pay and PAYCO. The alliance planned to prepare cross-border transaction services in the first quarter of 2020.
- Unconfirmed
LINE Pay renames linked account service LINE Pay Money[8]
LINE Pay renamed its account service previously launched with iPASS from “LINE Pay iPASS Account” to “LINE Pay Money.”
Sources8 sources
- 1Yikatongen.wikipedia.org
- 2Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card official websitebjsuperpass.com
- 3Yikatongwikidata.org
- 4北京市政交通一卡通zh.wikipedia.org
- 5精诚携手一卡通于iPASS MONEY APP推出「好礼券」平台ec.ltn.com.tw
- 6一卡通Money免收乌克兰援助捐款跨行手续费chinatimes.com
- 7LINE Pay退出一卡通股东行列chinatimes.com
- 8LINE Pay成立跨境行动支付联盟sogi.com.tw
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