In our latest blog series, we explored payment trends within the mobile and vending industries, and learned what companies are doing to keep up with the latest technology and stay ahead of their competition. Now, join us as we examine popular loyalty solutions currently on the market, as we focus this week on the transit industry!

Ridership on public transit is on the decline throughout the country. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), this is because many customers feel it is no longer as cost-effective as it once was and is less efficient than driving their personal vehicle. However, transit companies are now utilizing loyalty solutions to increase ridership and keep customers coming back. Here are the top loyalty solutions in the transit industry right now:

Loyalty Points and Rewards

In a recent study from KPMG, they found that 74 percent of customers will go out of their way to shop where they can earn loyalty points. As such, transit authorities and integrators are implementing loyalty programs that awards points to customers for number of trips taken, travelling during off-peak times, and for referrals to the program. As customers start to rack up their loyalty points, they can cash them in for rewards such as free drinks, gift certificates and even free rides. This incentivizes customers to keep riding with the same company, so they can earn points faster and use them to their benefit.

Geo-specific Discounts

According to an article by Forbes, the most successful loyalty programs share a number of things in common. First, the program must be easy to understand, and the steps for enrolling, earning, and redeeming awards must be simple to follow. Next, the program should offer discounts that are both personalized to the customer and geo-specific, which means customers are able to receive offers based on where they are and the time of day. Geolocation also allows companies to inform participants when there might be delays in traveling or cancelations.

Gamification to Increase Interaction

Gamification is a great way to increase customer interaction. It allows transit companies to connect with customers and encourage engagement. In the transit industry, the most important goals are to increase ridership, keep costs low, and retain customers. All of this can be done through the implementation of a gamification app aimed to introduce an element of fun where it didn’t previously exist.

A great example of this is when Amsterdam Public Transport installed monster stickers on the windows of every tram in the city. Riders were encouraged to record their journey and get the stickers to look as if they were eating pedestrians outside of the window. If a rider ‘ate’ 10 people during their trip, they received a prize from the transit operator.

The ID TECH Solution

ID TECH is committed to bringing innovative technology to your digital loyalty program. With the latest tap-and-go technology, it is easier than ever for your customers to redeem rewards and stay connected to your brand. In this age of ecommerce, businesses are competing to gain market share with new customers. Boost your brand awareness, customer loyalty, and market share with ID TECH’s digital loyalty solutions.

Our latest loyalty solution, the PiP, allows you to redeem rewards, centralize your loyalty program, access sporting events and concerts, and much more. PiP provides convenience across all industries by supporting Apple Pay VAS & Google Pay Smart Tap, as well as MIFARE. Please visit our website for more information on the PiP, and the datasheet can be downloaded here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH is a leading 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 industry.  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.

 

In our previous article, we discussed Payment Trends in the Mobile Industry and how they have been rapidly adopted and integrated in stores and services across the world. Now, we will look at trends in the transportation industry and how companies are working toward enhancing the customer experience to increase sales.

Now more than ever, the transportation industry is focused on building integrated digital platforms, offering diverse payment channels, and improving the use of data to better understand their customers in order to improve their overall transit experience. To give you a better idea, here are some of the top payment trends in the transportation industry right now:

Decline in Cash Payments

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, mass transit companies have historically accepted cash or proprietary tokens to pay for public transportation. Tokens offered several advantages over cash as a means of collecting fares. Tokens increased consumer convenience by alleviating the need for consumers to carry exact change, and allowing them to purchase discounted tickets in advance, and it also reduced employee theft of cash.

Nowadays, however, many transit companies are restricting the use of cash and tokens as a means of payment. This is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as some fear that it can be spread from person to person through physical tender. Companies are instead focusing on non-cash forms of payment, such as pre-paid passes, credit cards, and contactless payments.

Pre-paid Passes

Companies are encouraging customers to purchase pre-paid passes for transportation such as buses, subways, and highway tolls. This alleviates the risk of spreading the virus during the payment interaction and is a safer way of doing business. Customers are able to purchase the passes online from the comfort of their own home and then load it to their mobile wallet or simply display the pass on the dash of their vehicle. Doing so provides peace of mind and offers a safe, contactless payment solution.

Increased Use of Contactless Payments

Contactless payment technology is becoming an increasingly popular and preferred way to conduct business quickly and safely. Contactless tap-and-go payment transactions can be used by hovering your smartphone or credit card over a POS system’s NFC reader. Not only is it a safer method of payment during today’s unprecedented times because it eliminates the need to touch the payment terminal, it’s also much faster which contributes to a better customer experience.

A research report from Juniper Research predicts that by 2022, more than half of all POS transactions will be contactless. As such, transportation services that want to keep customers happy are adopting contactless readers to provide faster and safer ways to conclude customer transactions.

Transportation Apps

To go one step further, some transportation companies are creating applications to assist in the payment process, such as ClickBus and OMNY. Implementing apps allows customers to go through a contactless payment process and provides them with a safe option as well as a fast, convenient checkout. The decision to launch an app for customers also gives transportation companies the ability to track consumer behavior and base future decisions off of that data.

ID TECH’s Transit Solutions

Payment terminals require technology that is durable, secure, and reliable to keep up with high traffic and outdoor environments. Since transit terminals tend to be out in the open and used by hundreds to thousands of people, they must be able to withstand the wear and tear of constant use and harsh weather conditions. The best products with operate normally with years of use and will only require replacement from extensive damage or when the operator is ready to upgrade to a new migration path.  ID TECH’s transit products are rugged devices that have been tested in the most intense weather environments and proven to be the most reliable for customer transactions.

One such payment solution is ID TECH’s VP5300M – a PCI SRED certified MSR, EMV contact, and EMV contactless all-in-one secure motorized payment acceptance reader. Specifically designed as a direct drop-in replacement for older non-PCI certified motorized readers, the VP5300M easily fits into the same space taken by the vast majority of existing motorized readers, making it the perfect upgrade replacement to all existing unattended and motorized payment solutions. The VP5300M can be paired with ID TECH’s L80 and L100 PIN pads to accept PIN transactions, as well as the ID TECH EMV Contactless NFC Antenna Module to accept contactless transactions.

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.

 

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/.