Visa and Planeta Informatica announced the launch of new technology that enables public transit operators to implement contactless payments faster and easier.
The Visa Secure Access Module (SAM) makes it easy for transit organizations and operators to begin offering riders the ability to tap to pay with a contactless card, phone or wearable device, without the expense and technical requirements of replacing current turnstiles or terminal hardware.
Contactless payments are shaping the future of mass transit in major cities around the world, helping riders save valuable time by eliminating the need to stand in line to buy or re-load a ticket. For transit operators that have invested in turnstiles and terminal readers recently, the Visa SAM may be a cost-effective solution to offer the benefits of a contactless transit experience, including improving the customer experience, boosting ridership, and reducing ticketing overheads. Rather than installing brand new turnstiles or hardware, transit operators can install the Visa SAM, which is based on secure EMV® contactless technology, directly into existing systems, significantly decreasing cost and implementation time. The Visa SAM is the first technology of its kind for the transit industry, available to all Visa Ready technology partners, making it easy for other transit hardware and software companies to incorporate it into their offerings.
“This is a transformational development for public transit operators that want to improve their customers’ journeys and reduce their operational costs by removing the need for tickets or topping up fare cards,” said Nick Mackie, Global Head of Urban Mobility, for Visa. “Through our work with Planeta Informatica, we have pioneered a way to accelerate the shift to contactless transit that is scalable and highly secure, while generating time and cost savings for transit operators by removing the hurdles of replacing potentially thousands of transit readers across the transport system.”
“The new Visa SAM technology combines 15 years of our experience in public transportation with the Mass Transit Transaction (MTT) framework, a state of the art payment framework released by Visa in 2017. We worked diligently with Visa to build the best technological solution for adding EMV contactless acceptance on top of any existing closed-loop payment system without necessarily replacing the entire electronic ticketing infrastructure,” said Artur Costa, CEO of Planeta Informática.
In a global study commissioned by Visa, “The Future of Transportation: Mobility in the Age of the Megacity,” Visa found complexity in payment is often a point of frustration among commuters on mass transit today, so, solutions like contactless transit that make payments easier could be critical to increasing ridership and satisfaction in the future. Commuters reported that the average use of mass transit would increase by 27 percent if it was easier to pay, with 47 percent saying the need to obtain different tickets for different modes of travel is an issue.1
The launch of the Visa SAM builds on Visa’s experience helping transit operators around the world find the best, most cost-effective way to address increasing pressures on their existing infrastructure while also investing in the technologies that will serve them in the future. Over the past year alone, Visa helped launch contactless transit solutions in 20 cities across 12 countries, with more than 150 projects currently underway.
Visa and Planeta Informatica have partnered with Ingenico Group to implement the Visa SAM as part of the launch of contactless transit with Metro Rio in late April.
“Ingenico welcomes the launch by Planeta and Visa of the new Visa Secure Access Module, building on existing Ingenico contactless terminals. This illustrates the diversity of solutions to address transit operators’ payments needs, ranging from payment modules to more comprehensive solutions that include dedicated gateways and acquiring capabilities,” said Venceslas Cartier, Enterprise Retail Head of Transportation at Ingenico Group. “We are looking forward to our continued partnership with Planeta and Visa, which will also entail the provision of our latest generation open payment terminals, to keep enhancing consumers’ journeys.”
