Transport for London Expected to Reveal Winner of Major Revenue-Collection Contract within Weeks
Transport for London is expected to soon announce its long-awaited award of a major fare-system contract–choosing between two vendors, including incumbent Cubic Transportation Systems–Mobility Payments has learned.
The contact for the so-called Project Proteus could be worth up to
Tip Sheet: Fare Officials from Major Transit Agencies, Including New York and London, Believed to be Discussing How to Deal with Payments Industry
Fare payments representatives with major transit agencies in Europe, North America and Australia have been quietly meeting to discuss merchant fees and fraud around open-loop payments, Mobility Payments has learned.
Also: Australian Government Launches Contactless Trial–Believed to be Token Gesture; Cal-ITP Program has Record Quarter, Thanks to Orders from Sacramento Agency.
Calls Unheeded? Transport for London Says Certain Merchant Fees Rising Despite Complaints
Nearly nine months after open-loop payments pioneer Transport for London sent an unmistakable signal to banks and payments schemes that it was unhappy about rising transaction fees, not much appears to have changed.
Back in early March, Andrew Anderson, the agency’s head of customer payments, complained about increasing transaction fees and higher fraud losses, which he said threatened to kill the “golden goose” of contactless fare payments for the agency.
As Use of Digital Wallets Grows with Open Loop, Transport for London and other Agencies being Hit by ‘Retokenization’ Fraud
Digital wallets are fast becoming the preferred method of payments for transit riders using open loop, with some major agencies recording well over half of their open-loop transactions coming from mobile devices, as Mobility Payments reported.
But for at least the past couple of years, agencies have been vexed by a certain type of fraud based on
Three Big Agencies Say Devices Starting to Dominate Cards for Open-Loop Payments
Figures from three of the largest transit agencies accepting open-loop payments show that NFC wallets are becoming the most common way customers tap their credit and debit cards to pay, Mobility Payments has learned.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency, Transport for New South Wales in Sydney and Transport for London are seeing
Tip Sheet: Vix Chief Ross Dismisses Talk of Merger with Kuba
Vix Technology CEO Aaron Ross told Mobility Payments that even though he will continue to head up both Vix and Kuba and that the two fare vendors share a private equity owner and have a close working relationship, there are no plans for the companies to merge.
That echoes comments last month from Ross’ boss, Steve Gallagher, chairman of both Vix and private
Tip Sheet: Transport for London Criticizes Payments Industry for Rising Fees and Higher Fraud Losses
Complaining of rising transaction fees and higher fraud, Transport or London today suggested that actions by banks and payments schemes threatened to kill the “golden goose” of contactless fare payments for the agency.
Andrew Anderson, the agency’s head of customer payments, used his annual presentation at the
Can Transit Agencies Save Money with Open-Loop Payments?
Transit agencies often offer open-loop payments mainly for convenience–that is, to enable their customers to tap to pay for fares with their credit and debit cards and NFC wallets without having to buy a ticket or top-up a closed loop card.
Debate Panel Split on Whether Transit Agencies Should Support Concessions with Open Loop
Transit agencies rolling out open-loop payments have an important question or two to answer: Should they include concessionary discounts with their open-loop service, and, if so, how?
‘Frankly Outrageous’: Open-Loop Pioneer Says Interchange Fees for Transit Agencies Too High, Especially in U.S.
Shashi Verma, chief technology officer for Transport for London and the driving force behind the agency’s landmark open-loop payments service, called for greater regulation of interchange rates outside of the UK and European Union to reduce fees agencies pay.