A top official with Helsinki transport agency HSL made headlines over this past weekend, Aug. 31, when he was quoted as actually discouraging customers from using contactless open-loop payments when the agency launches the long-delayed service.
That’s according to Helsingin Sanomat, the main newspaper in the Finnish capital, which reported that the agency’s deputy CEO is instead steering riders toward HSL’s own mobile app because of higher costs for accepting debit and credit cards.