NFC TIMES Exclusive – Take-up of open-loop contactless payment of fares in Miami-Dade County, Fla., has been slow so far, more than four months after transit officials launched the service on their small light rail network, according to figures provided to NFC Times.
Officials with the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works, or DTPW, who late last month expanded the acceptance of contactless EMV credit and debit cards and NFC wallets to the county’s much larger bus network, are no doubt hoping that the faster rollout of contactless cards by U.S. banks expected this year, among other things, will help boost usage of contactless payments by transit customers.
The apparent lackluster interest among customers in tapping their bank cards and NFC wallets for rides stands in contrast with the much faster take-up that UK transit officials in Manchester saw after launching contactless payments on their own light rail network last summer. Unlike in the U.S., in the UK, nearly all bank cards sport a contactless interface and contactless payments account for at least 50% of all card payments in stores.
