Tampa Bay Agencies Launch Open Loop as Fare-Payments Option for Customers
Three transit agencies serving the Tampa Bay region, a major metropolitan area in Florida, have introduced contactless open-loop payments, offering an alternative to the region’s closed-loop card and app, as well as cash and tickets and passes.
Budapest Transit Agency Confirms Mastercard Will Pay for Open-Loop Pilot but Won’t Say How Much
Mastercard is footing the bill for a large share of the cost to roll out and operate an open-loop payments pilot for Budapest transit agency BKK, but the agency won’t say how much the payments scheme is paying, Mobility Payments has learned.
In-Depth: Canadian Transit Agencies See Low Adoption of Open-Loop Payments
Despite a high-profile launch recently of domestic debit card acceptance in Canada and more open-loop rollouts there, Canadian transit agencies say they have no plans to promote open-loop payments over their close-loop cards.
Contractor for Fast-Track Open-Loop Procurement in Barcelona Gets Pressure over Key Technology Supplier
The main contractor for Barcelona’s open-loop payments project has chosen a local company over Brazil-based Planeta Informática to implement a key technology for the rollout, after apparently receiving pressure to hire a local subcontractor, sources told Mobility Payments.
Dutch National Rail Operator to Launch Open-Loop Payments as Part of Nationwide Rollout in Netherlands
Nederlandse Spoorwegen, or NS, the Dutch national railway and by far the largest transit operator in the country, yesterday announced it will launch open-loop payments next Tuesday. While open loop will only apply to single ticket sales–a reported 10% of NS’s total trips–the launch is a major milestone for the Netherlands’ nationwide EMV payments project.
Baltic Transit Agency Awards Five-Year, ‘Low Risk’ Contract to Vendor to Provide Open-Loop Payments Service
In what will be the first open-loop payments service launched in Lithuania, the transit agency serving the Baltic country’s third-largest city plans to launch the contactless EMV service by July of this year, Mobility Payments has learned.
Singapore’s LTA Sees Strong Take-Up of Open-Loop Payments but has No Plans to End Closed Loop
Since launching open-loop payments in 2019, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has seen adoption grow to more than 30% of adult full fare trips, and the authority has eliminated single-trip paper tickets.
TransLink in Vancouver Hopes Enabling Riders to Tap Domestic Debit Cards Will Increase Use of Its Open-Loop Service
Vancouver transit authority TransLink Wednesday launched the much-anticipated expansion of its open-loop payments service to include Canada’s popular domestic debit brand, Interac–hoping to increase adoption of what has been a little-used service.
Think Tank: Widespread Move to Open-Loop Payments in U.S. Remains ‘Elusive;’ High Interchange Partly to Blame
Open-loop payments can improve the customer experience, helping transit agencies to win back customers in a post-pandemic world, while also reducing cash-handling costs and speeding up boarding times, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution, a major think tank in the U.S.
Reported Contactless Pilot in Ireland Not Part of Planned National Open-Loop Rollout
Recent reports in the Irish press suggesting that the country would launch a contactless fare-payments pilot in the second quarter as part of its planned national open-loop rollout were overstated, a representative of the National Transport Authority, or NTA, told Mobility Payments.