The dual-function Muvo card will be used initially by 1000 commuters to load tickets for bus travel in Durban city centre. Users will load credits onto their Muvo card at kiosks, and then tap the card against a card reader upon boarding a bus in order to pay for their ride.

The pilot phase will be followed by a roll-out to the rest of the 55 0000 commuters throughout the eThekwini Municipality region.

The card features MasterCard's PayPass application and an MChip 4 data chip for regular in-store payments.

Herman Singh, chief executive officer of Standard Bank's innovation unit Beyond Payments, says: "The Muvo card is a world first, and showcases a transit ticket sitting inside a banking chip - secured with bank strength security - along with a payment wallet."

He sees the introduction of contactless card-based applications as a stepping stone to fully-fledged NFC-based mobile shopping.

"It is inevitable that we will all be using our phones to pay at merchants in the future," saYS 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."