Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

Payment cards coming to Chicago public transit

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Chicago Transit Authority is planning to pilot an array of credit card acceptance technologies on city buses, including contactless payment, according to cardratings.com.

The CTA is planning the switch in order to save time and tighten up efficiency. Research shows that a typical cash transaction takes 25 seconds, as opposed to a credit card swipe, which takes only 2. Cash transactions can therefore lead to delayed routes and missed connections.


CTA officials are now accepting proposals from competing companies to launch the pilot payment program, which they hope will help get Chicagoans to work on time more frequently and make the city more tourist-friendly.

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UK-regional bus group Bluestar has launched a new transit card for discounted weekly and monthly travel on its network, according to Southern Daily Echo.

The new card enables cashless fare for any service on the Bluestar Network in Southampton, Eastleigh and Winchester. It also supports travel on Wilts & Dorset buses and Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight, both of which are owned and operated by Go-Ahead Group.

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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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The Peninsula Taxi Association (PTA) in South Africa has launched a electronic fare collection system, granting commuters cashless fare and discounts when using the newly developed contactless-enabled transit card, according to The Cape Times.

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MasterCard announced that it intends to present its contactless payment cards to Azerbaijani financial market in 2012.

According to abc.az, MasterCard is in negotiation with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, as well as Azerbaijan private banks regarding the implementation of projects on non-cash payments and the introduction of contactless cards for payments for applications in transit, dining and entertainment.

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A new survey from Euro Kartensysteme shows that Germans are starting to embrace the idea of contactless and NFC payments.

Out of 1,040 Germans aged 18-59, 43% responded that they would like to make contactless payments if given the opportunity, of which 58% percent would make their payments with a debit card card, 41% with a credit card and 50% with an NFC phone.

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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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