Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card (北京市政交通一卡通) store-value swipe card is a card used in Beijing, China, for public transportation and related uses. Colloquilly, the card is often called Yikatong, which means "one card pass" in Chinese, reflecting on the eventual "Swiss Army Knife"-like usage of card services. It is similar to the Octopus card used in Hong Kong.

The card was introduced after previous IC-card test systems proved to be successful. However, these cards never even reached much of the general public, and their usage scopes were extremely limited.

First introduced to the general public in 2003, the card was first put into use at the end of 2003 (in part possibly due to the impact of SARS that year, which brought minor delays), when Beijing subway Line 13 switched to the AFC ticket inspection system.

The card can be bought by locals and foreigners in the city against a deposit of CNY 30; identification is required prior to the first purchase. The card can have its value refilled at intervals of CNY 10. The deposit is only used in the case the card is used for a transaction exceeding the value of the card remaining.

As of July 2004, the card can be used on Beijing's Bashi Bus Company buses, as well as underground line 13 and some Beijing taxis. The card is expected to be expanded so that parking and expressway fees, as well as water transportation charges, can be paid using the swipe card.

Penetration

Due to the rather high deposit and limited availability (even with more and more outlets opening up), few Beijingers use the card. A recent newspaper report said that on average, only CNY 1 of fares per bus were paid by means of the swipe card -- per day.

The expansion of card services, however, and an awareness campaign, would be ways by which more Beijingers would learn more about the card.