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Ottawa seeks integrated contactless smart card
27 May 2010

Officials in Ottawa are planning to introduce a multi-functional contactless smart card by 2012, reports ottawacitizen.com. 

The O-Card could be used to quickly and securely pay for a variety of different services within the city, while it could also be used to pay for low-value goods in stores. 

Councillor Rick Chiarelli told the news website: "We could move to one O-card that is your bus pass, your library card, your city gym membership, your parking card ... It can all be one, because it's in the chip."

In addition, there are plans to improve usability by allowing cardholders to top up cards from their home computers, as well as incorporating loyalty schemes.

The initial costs to get the system operational are expected to be dwarfed by the efficiency savings that come from unifying all of the city's billing departments. 

The committee running the scheme is compiling a proposal that it plans to have ready in time for approval in next year's budget.