California Launches Two More Pilots under Open-Loop Initiative
California transportation officials announced two more pilots for their open-loop payments initiative, Cal-ITP, bringing to four the number of six-month “demonstration” projects they have launched with small transit agencies and vendors.
Porto Launches Open-Loop Pilot on Metro Line and Bus Route, Targeting Tourists; Plans Call for Rollout by 2022
Porto aims to become one of the next cities in Europe to roll out contactless open-loop payments, launching a pilot on a Porto Metro line and a route of STCP, which runs the bus and tram service for Portugal’s second largest city.
Interest Growing in Open-Loop Payments in California, Says Cal-ITP
California transportation officials are hearing strong demand among transit agencies in the state to move to open-loop payments, a person handling communications for the state Department of Transportation’s California’s Integrated Travel Project, or Cal-ITP, which is helping agencies procure the fare-collection technology, told Mobility Payments.
Case Study: BONNsmart Project Seeks to Introduce Open-Loop Payments to Cash-Loving Germany
SWB Bus and Bahn, the transit agency serving the city of Bonn, is the first such operator in Germany to accept contactless EMV payments.
State of California Seeks to Change Way Transit Agencies Procure Fare Systems
As the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, sees it, the state’s more than 300 local transit agencies offer a fragmented and inefficient mix of fare collection systems–a fact it says discourages many potential riders among the state’s nearly 40 million residents from taking public transit.
More Transit Agencies Seek to Eliminate Cash Using Retail Cash Points, Fintechs
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, elimination of cash has taken on greater urgency for transit agencies. Fare-collection system suppliers say they are seeing strong demand for cashless options, including linking their mobile ticketing and contactless closed-loop card products to retail networks where customers can use cash.
Open-Loop Payments Trial at Small California Transit Agency Could Lead to More Rollouts in Giant State
California public bus agency Monterey-Salinas Transit last month officially launched a six-month “demonstration” project to pilot contactless open-loop payments. While the agency is very small, providing only around 3,500 rides per day last year, the launch holds much greater significance.
Rome Operator: Covid Accelerates Demand for Contactless but Customer Habits Hard to Change
The CIO of Italy’s largest public transit operator, ATAC SpA, said the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated demand for open-loop contactless and mobile payments, but added that old habits are hard to break for customers and use of cash and paper tickets are still popular.
OMNY Hits New Usage Milestone as Open-Loop Payments Rollout Continues
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA, says it continues to see steady growth of its open-loop fare payments service, OMNY, announcing 50 million taps by customers using NFC wallets and bank cards to ride the massive New York City Subway and the city’s buses.
Visa, Mastercard Forecast More Contactless Growth in U.S., Spurred in Part by New York Fare Payments Service
The heads of the two largest payments networks in the U.S., Visa and Mastercard, predict strong growth for contactless payments in the U.S., with Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga noting that 70% of U.S. Mastercard-branded cards in the U.S. are coming up for reissue over the next 12 to 14 months, and most of these cards will be issued with a contactless interface. A large number of Visa-branded cards will be reissued with a contactless interface during that period, as well.