NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – In what is believed to be a first, a transit agency in Europe plans to accept contactless credit and debit cards using a third-party software-as-a-service platform this summer, UK-based platform provider Masabi told NFC Times, although the company declined to name the agency. The project is expected to begin as a pilot.
Masabi said it believes that the Covid-19 pandemic has convinced transit authorities and operators of the need to offer contactless and mobile payments–either open-loop or closed-loop–if they don’t already offer it, because these modes of payment reduce use of cash and paper tickets, which are considered a risk for spreading the coronavirus.
Masabi recently signed a deal with EMV transit payments gateway and processor Littlepay to help package its technology for transit agencies, with their “cEMV-in-a-Box” product. Littlepay announced the deal this week and told NFC Times there would be a pilot later this year. Masabi confirmed that the first open-loop project involving its Justride “fare-payments-as-a-service” platform would support cEMV in a box.
