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NFC being encouraged into transit payment systems
1 Apr 2011

Encouraging the introduction of near-field communications (NFC) into smart transit systems will be one of the main priorities of the Smart Card Alliance's Transportation Council (SCATC) this year.

The group aims to be a resource for transit agencies who are considering upgrading their fare collection systems to include contactless smart cards or NFC for e-money payments.

NFC payment solutions have the potential to be used in transit systems as a supplement to contactless smart cards, allowing passengers to pay for journeys with e-money by waving their phones over a reader instead of an RFID card.

Laying out it its goals for 2011, the SCATC said that it will strive to educate the transport sector on the development of NFC, as well as the benefits of open bank card payments and the convergence of smart-card based transit applications.

Craig Roberts, of the Utah Transit Authority and chair of the Transportation Council, said that 2011 marks a great opportunity for the sector to look at the direction in which technology is developing.

With most of the major smartphone manufacturers either confirmed or rumoured to be installing NFC chips into their newer-model devices, NFC will benefit from having a large and quickly-expanding pool of potential users.

"We stay up-to-date and provide resources on what is happening to today in the transit industry, such as current pilots and open bank card implementations," said Mr Roberts, explaining the council's function.

"For 2011, we are also asking 'what's next', answering the questions agencies have on new technologies and solutions and exploring the ways they can fit into their transit systems."

This includes, but will not be limited to, converging contactless smart card applications across transit, parking and toll payments, projects on NFC and an analysis of how this technology is expected to impact on transit in the coming months and years.

Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, explained that the transit and payments industries have seen a great deal of overlap in the last few years.

He added that changing regulations and the development of new technologies such as NFC have made this a good time to look at the future of transit.

While NFC is still in an early stage of implementation as far as travel payments go, contactless smart cards continue to be introduced on transit systems all over the world.

Just recently, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation revealed that it is to introduce new smart transit cards onto the Namma Metro in India.

Not only do such solutions offer a speedier and safer alternative to paying for fares with cash, they also provide several security benefits, such as capability to be tamperproof.

SquidCard recognises the potential that NFC offers to the market for e-money payments and is actively working to create new NFC solutions for mobile devices.

Its contactless smart card payment solutions are also available on several transit systems across the UK, including the sQuid GMPTE card which allows for pay-as-you-go transactions on Arriva buses in Bolton, as well as retail payments at several shops across the town.