MasterCard Inc. says it is expanding its New York-area tests of contactless transit payments.
Stephen Orfei, a senior vice president in MasterCard's advanced payments unit, said the New York area provides a unique testbed for the technology.
Not only does the area contain a broad mix of interconnected transit systems, but two New York banking companies, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., are among the nation's largest contactless card issuers, Mr. Orfei said in an interview Friday.
"The transit market has emerged, in my mind, as the killer app for contactless," he said.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last week that its board had authorized an agreement with MasterCard and NJ Transit Corp. for an eight-month test of contactless bank cards and other devices to pay fares on the Port Authority Trans Hudson train system and two NJ Transit bus routes.
"The first two months will be exclusive to MasterCard PayPass," Mr. Orfei said. "Other brands will be part of the pilot for the last six months."
Commuters will be able to prepay fares online at a discount, the system debiting their accounts as they use them, he said.
The test will be compatible with an ongoing test of contactless bank cards in the New York subway system. Mr. Orfei said city taxicabs will take the same contactless bank cards.
Since July, the Port Authority has sold its own contactless cards for use at its 13 Path stations.
