UK Public Transit Officials in Midlands Seek to Replicate London’s Success in Pay-as-You-Go Contactless
Transit officials in the Midlands in the UK are calling on the government to fund a London-style contactless fare-payments system across this large section of the country, which would enable riders to tap to pay for trips on rail, bus and tram networks with either closed- and open-loop cards and credentials on smartphones.
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank Seeks to Expand Open-Payments Push for Transit and Other Mobility Projects
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the acquirer and processor for the open-loop payments service rolled out by Transport for New South Wales in Sydney, says it is negotiating with transit officials in other Australian states to help launch similar payments services. It also hopes to be involved in payments for mobility-as-a-service platforms.
Helsinki to Roll Out Multimodal Contactless EMV Fare Payments, with Plans for Daily and Weekly Fare Capping
The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority plans to accept contactless EMV payments on its multimodal system, including its buses, metro, trams and ferries. The rollout, expected to be completed in 2023, will also support daily and weekly fare capping.
New York’s OMNY Project Completes Major Milestone, as Transit Officials Point to Steady Growth in Adoption
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority's much-watched open-loop fare collection service, OMNY, has reached a milestone for acceptance in New York's premier borough, Manhattan.
Italy’s Fourth Largest City Latest to Launch Open-Loop Service
Transit officials in Turin, Italy, have launched acceptance of fares with contactless EMV bank cards and NFC wallets. The Covid-19 pandemic aftermath is expected to accelerate the already significant trend for transit agencies to implement open-loop fare collection.
Calgary Transit Launches Mobile-Ticketing Service with Plans to Expand to Open Loop
Canada’s third largest city, Calgary, has introduced its first electronic fare payments service, offering mobile ticketing from a software-as-a-service platform provider, with plans to enable customers to pay for fares with their contactless EMV credit and debit cards and NFC wallets.
Transit Payments Company Head: Apple and Google Positioned to Take Bigger Piece of Payments Industry
The head of transit payments gateway and processor Littlepay said he believes that Apple and Google are well-positioned to take a “big bite out of the payment chain,” which could change their relationship with payments networks Visa and Mastercard from one of collaboration to one of competition.
Brussels Latest European Capital to Launch Open-Loop Fare Payments
Major Brussels transit operator STIB-MIVB plans to begin accepting contactless EMV credit and debit cards and NFC wallets on Wednesday, the latest European capital to launch open-loop payments following the success of the technology as demonstrated in London.
Boston Transit Agency Seeks to Put Massive Fare-Collection Project Back on Track
The massive new fare-collection system planned by Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA, which will include open-loop contactless payments and an expanded closed-loop program, has had trouble getting off the ground. Late last week, the transit agency finalized its “reset” of the project, agreeing to increase the contract by nearly 30% to just over $935 million and to add two more years to the rollout schedule–all in hopes of getting the project back on track.
Software-as-Service Platforms for Transit Agencies Begin to Support Open-Loop Payments
In what is believed to be a first, a transit agency in Europe plans to accept contactless credit and debit cards using a third-party software-as-a-service platform this summer, according to UK-based platform provider Masabi, although the company declined to name the agency. The project is expected to begin as a pilot.