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Commuters in Liverpool can use their own contactless debit or credit cards to pay for fares on some 200 buses operated by Stagecoach Group PLC under a test that began this week. The test, scheduled to run for one year, marks the first major use of open-loop contactless bankcards—that is, cards without preloaded transit applications—for mass transit in the United Kingdom, Jason Field, business leader, product management, global PayPass, at MasterCard Worldwide, tells CardLine Global. PayPass is MasterCard's contactless payment application. Riders also can use cards with similar applications, including Visa's payWave, to pay for fares, says Matt Roswell, head of business development for RBS WorldPay, a Royal Bank of Scotland processing unit participating in the trial. RBS issues PayPass-enabled cards, though neither WorldPay nor MasterCard would say how many such cards banks have issued in the Liverpool area. Financial institutions in the UK have issued nearly 5 million contactless debit and credit cards, according to the UK Cards Association, an industry group. Consumers using contactless cards in Liverpool buses first must request a ticket from the driver. A single-fare ticket typically costs about 80 pence (US$1.30 or 90 euro cents), Field says. Riders then tap their card on a reader to pay for their tickets. They also receives a receipt, Field says. Funds for the ticket comes straight from the riders' card account. Neither Field nor Roswell would share expectations for consumer use of the technology on buses. "We don't know," Roswell says. "Part of the reason we are in the trial [is to test] consumer reaction." Officials who manage mass transit in the London area also are exploring the possibility of enabling fare payments with open-loop bankcards.
