Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

TTC may adopt 'open' payment system for public transit

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is looking at an open payment fare-collection system that would allow commuters to pay for rides with contactless credit or debit cards, as well as NFC mobile phones, according to itbusiness.ca.

The rest of the Greater Toronto Area, however, is considering adopting a prepaid fare card system, called the Presto card.


TTC riders will still have access to Presto cards, should they want to avoid using their personal cards, says itbusiness.ca.

The move has met some criticism, namely from Bob Burbach, senior analyst at Toronto’s IDC Financial Insights, who says that deviating from the GTA’s Presto system would incur unnecessary costs and complications.

Burbach went on to say that it would also negate the advantages of a seamless inter-regional contactless payment system - that is, a rider might be required to use multiple payment devices instead of one simple Presto card.

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India transport operator Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. has launched a smart transit card for commuters traveling on the region’s bus system, according to ISO&Agent.

The agency began a six-month trial and August 2010 followed by a soft and silent launch in January 2012. The card is available now for a nonrefundable fee of 25 rupees ($.50 US cents) and allows commuters to travel for up to 100 minutes on one bus, for the minimum fare.

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Boston-based Revosys has announced that it will implement NFC payment processing in its upcoming “Interactive V5 In-Taxi” advertising system.

According to Revosys, the upgraded Interactive V5 will allow passengers to pay for fares with NFC-enabled mobile phones, contactless credit and debit cards, and traditional magnetic stripe cards.

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MTN Irancell, one of Iran’s mobile operators, has teamed up with Etick Pars Intelligent Technologies and Bank Pasargad to develop a mobile wallet solution for the Iranian Market.

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Proxama has announced a partnership with semiconductor supplier ARM Holdings to create secure payment mechanisms for mobile handsets.

The UK-based partners say they will combine ARM’s TrustZone technology with Proxama’s Mobile Wallet to develop a “highly secure” environment for NFC-enabled mobile contactless payments and mobile internet payments.

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Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator, has announced the launch of a SIM-based NFC road toll payment application on the Turkcell T11 smart phone.

Developed in collaboration with Bank Asya, the app allows users to migrate their plastic KGS toll payment cards onto their T11 smart phone to pay for fares when crossing bridges and freeway turnpikes.

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UK mobile operator O2 is delaying the launch of its “O2 Wallet” mobile contactless payments, loyalty and transit app due to concerns that it is “not yet offering an adequate customer experience,” reports MarketingWeek.

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