EMV contactless cards acceptance in public transport

Introducing fare collection via contactless EMV card payment in public transport. In cooperation with CSOB, we are making commute and fare collection easier in several Czech cities while also exporting our technology abroad.

The client's requirements

We operate a comprehensive authorization system for the ČSOB company, this representing the core component of the bank’s acquiring systems processing payment cards transactions from its more than 60,000 terminals.

The rapid adoption of contactless payment cards has opened up new opportunities for the bank, and one of these was for the company to become a major provider of fare payment solutions on public transport networks in the Czech Republic.

Introducing such a method of payment meant extending the existing ČSOB authorization system with a new module that supported the specialized functions of the transport sector.

Furthermore, it was necessary to find and test a suitable technology which would be ready to fulfil the function of the payment terminal in a given vehicle; i.e. the capacity to read all types of payment cards and reliably support cashless public transport payments.

The solution delivered

t did not take our team long to devise and release the transport module for the ČSOB authorization centre.

We chose an optimal technology for the vehicle payment terminals and then set about developing a suite of applications to permit the precise functionality of all the processes running on them.

MONET+ participated in the implementation of the following transport projects:

Prague – Two trial routes with

120 terminals installed
Use of a check-in framework
The ability to process transactions offline
DESFire card support

Brno – The airport bus route (a pilot project) with

A small number of terminals installed
Use of a check-in framework
The ability to process transactions online with the capacity to switch to an offline mode

Ostrava

2,500 terminals installed
Over 500,000 transactions per month
Use of a check-in/check-out framework
The ability to process transactions offline
DESFire card support
A paperless solution

Pilsen

300 terminals installed
100,000 transactions per month
Use of a check-in framework
The ability to process transactions offline
DESFire card support

Karlovy Vary

130 terminals installed
Use of a check-in framework
The ability to process transactions offline
DESFire card support
A paperless solution

Liberec

80 terminals installed
Use of a check-in framework
The ability to process transactions online with the capacity to switch to an offline mode

Other cities and inter-urban bus routes with implementations and after-care service by MONET+:

Mariánské Lázně
Hradec Králové
Třebíč
Tábor
Chomutov-Jirkov
Prague-Kutná Hora
Prague-Rakovník
Prague-Harrachov
Bratislava-Vienna

The benefits delivered

For cities and transport operators:

Faster cash flow
Eliminates issues associated with cash payments on vehicles
Eliminates the need for paper tickets
Significantly faster check-in – typically within 1 second (in offline mode)
No black passengers
Aggregation of transactions bring savings in transaction fees and discounted fares for passengers