In the last few weeks, we have discussed how COVID-19 is impacting payments in the vend’ing and mobile payments industries. Now, we will look at how the global pandemic has affected payments in the transit industry.

The transit industry’s evolution is constantly updating based on the needs of passengers. Contactless technologies were introduced and adopted into the transportation industry years ago with different closed loop payment systems across the world. This has expanded and evolved to where students are now able to use their student ID cards for transportation payments and bus riders are able to use their bus cards for exchanges at train stations. However, the arrival of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has created a demand for transit payments to update their technologies even further by accepting contactless EMV payments directly from commuter’s contactless bank cards and mobile wallets.  With this new ability to make contactless payments with their bank cards and mobile phones, commuters can avoid touching payment terminals and reduce the amount of cards and cash that they need to handle, reducing the amount of potentially contaminated surfaces that they touch.

Latin America Advancements

As we discussed in our Latin America Transit Adopts EMV Contactless Payments Amid COVID-19 Pandemic blog, Latin America has made evolutionary changes towards their bus validator technologies. Ticket integrators across Latin America are aiming to reduce the use of cash and metro cards in the transportation system by deploying new bus validators with contactless EMV technologies. This decreases cost and increases efficiency by eliminating metro cards as middlemen and allowing passengers to use their EMV bank cards directly. In addition, the ability to pay for fares with credit cards and mobile phones eliminates the need to recharge a metro card and reduces the number of cards that commuters need to handle. These payment updates are necessary for the evolving needs of the public because maintaining health and safety is paramount in uncertain times like these.

Delays in America

America has lagged behind in the adoption of contactless technology as a whole, but the arrival of COVID-19 has propelled America to make innovative changes to the way payments are accepted. The retail and mobile industries have seen the largest pushes, with many businesses acquiring contactless and mobile solutions to meet the demand that COVID-19 has caused. However, while the pandemic has kickstarted the adoption of contactless payments, it has also caused further delays.

New York’s MTA had begun installing their new One Metro New York (OMNY) system to allow direct, contactless payments from bank cards and mobile wallets, as well as the ability to combine fare payments and mobile ticketing across subways, buses, and commuter rails. This is a necessary update for a high-risk city like New York where the health and safety of commuters is in constant danger of infection from contaminated transportation vehicles.  Unfortunately, MTA’s installation of the OMNY system has been delayed until December due to concerns that workers may become infected by COVID-19.

The Necessity of Contactless

While other industries don’t necessarily have to adopt contactless technology to survive virus spread, the opposite is true for the transportation industry. People have become weary of public transportation and there has been a 21% increase in car purchases, while over 60% of people who previously commuted are now using private transportation instead. People are distrustful of encountering public transportation surfaces and other passengers who maybe infected while traveling. As a result, that transit industry is making the necessary changes to increase safety and sanitation to gain commuter’s trust again and earn back the travelers they have lost.

The transit industry has had multiple growths and setbacks during the rise of COVID-19. As restrictions are lifted and more commuters begin to navigate public transportation once again, we can only wait to see what new payment technologies and innovations are introduced into the transit industry.

To learn more about ID TECH’s transit solutions, click here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH is a leading global payment peripheral provider with expertise in magnetic stripe, EMV contact, EMV contactless, and OEM customization solutions. We have a strong foundation and continued success rooted in card readers and are always expanding our product offering to provide innovative solutions for the ever-evolving payments industries. Payment Security is an integral part of our product offering, and ID TECH as a company prides itself at being at the forefront of payment security in our design, development, manufacturing, and sales processes.

To learn more about ID TECH and our dedication to achieving payment security, please visit our about page.

 

Contactless payment methods have gradually increased in popularity across the world, but COVID-19 has propelled many countries and industries to quickly adopt new technology into their payment solutions. As the novel coronavirus becomes more prevalent, we are seeing a growing desire for limited contact with cash and payment devices to prevent spread of the disease. As a result, the demand for contactless payments has increased in all industries. Retail has begun to evolve by offering NFC payments and self-service checkout kiosks to promote customer safety, and now the transportation industry has begun to advance as well.

Evolving payment methods are becoming the norm and transit systems are having to adapt to a cashless and contactless society.  Countries across Latin America have decided to include multiple payment options to reduce cash and metro card usage. Now there is a focus on other payment methods such as QR codes and EMV contactless payments using debit and credit cards. While this endeavor is for customer safety, it benefits operators by decreasing costs and commuters by increasing efficiency.

In Peru, cashless transactions have increased to 50% of all their transactions since COVID-19 has begun. The Executive President of the Urban Transport Authority for Lima and Callao began offering transportation subsidies to operators who adopt EMV card readers to match cultural payment changes. Transportation officials are hoping this will result in transactions that are safer for customers and their sensitive information.

Along with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the city of Curitiba, Brazil will install new validators that allow commuters to use their own EMV cards for tickets, in addition to the existing NFC metro card payment options.  The ability to pay for fares with credit cards provides added convenience to commuters, eliminates the need to recharge a metro card, and reduces the number of cards that commuters need to handle.

ID TECH is currently working with several Ticket Integrators all over the world to allow EMV to be adopted into Latin America public transportation transactions. Validators are being deployed in several cities and use NFC technologies from ID TECH’s Kiosk IV to fulfill their promise to regulate transportation access through a secure ticketing system. The Kiosk IV is a rugged, contactless NFC reader that accepts both contactless payments and mobile wallets. Validators using the Kiosk IV accept both closed and open loop payments while quickly processing priority information for speedy payment acceptance. The combination of the two enables passengers to have a fully integrated, seamless transit experience.

While these payment updates are necessary for the evolving needs of public health and safety, they are sure to have a positive impact on both commuters and public transportation as well. The world is continuing to adopt new payment methods and Latin America has made huge strides by accepting EMV cards for public transportation.

Learn more about ID TECH products at https://idtechproducts.com/.