Tap to Ride! Monterey-Salinas Transit Becomes 1st in California to Offer Riders the Ability to Tap to Pay with Visa
May 11 2021 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
As part of a statewide initiative to improve
and simplify the transit experience, riders who tap to pay will be
guaranteed best fares for the trips they take
Today, in collaboration with Visa, Caltrans, Cybersource,
Littlepay, and SC Soft, Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) became the
first transit agency in California to offer bus riders a
contactless payment option. As cities begin to reopen, public
transportation will play a critical role in recovery, and
contactless payments can help provide a safe and easy experience
for riders and transit operators seeking limited physical
touchpoints and interactions. MST riders can now simply tap their
contactless credit, debit, prepaid card or payment-enabled device
on readers in MST buses for an easy and secure way to travel,
without needing to purchase or load a separate transit card or
handle cash while boarding.
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Visa research shows that enabling tap to pay on transit systems
like these can be good for economic recovery, bringing more than a
15% lift in transactions from merchants in surrounding
neighborhoods1. MST is the fifth transit agency in the U.S. to
accept tap to pay for fares, following Chicago, Miami, New York and
Portland, OR. MST is also the first public transit system in the
country that is located outside of a large urban area to introduce
tap to pay fares – demonstrating contactless payments as a good fit
for any size agency looking to enhance the customer experience.
“Visa recognizes the importance of expanding eligibility and
access to fare payment options that meet the needs of a diverse set
of transit riders,” said Brian Cole, SVP and head of North America
product, Visa. “This effort with MST and Caltrans illustrates how
open, contactless payments can support innovative and equitable
fare policies to benefit riders and transit operators across the
state.”
MST riders who tap will benefit from “fare capping” ensuring
riders won’t pay more than $10.00 per day—as long as they pay with
the same card or mobile wallet throughout the day. The tap to pay
option on MST’s entire bus fleet is the first contactless payment
demonstration of the California Integrated Travel Project
(Cal-ITP), a Caltrans-led initiative to make travel simpler and
more cost-effective for the 40 million California residents, served
by 300-plus transit agencies, who collectively take approximately
1.3 billion2 passenger trips annually.
“We are committed to serving all of our riders and delivering
new methods of ease and convenience,” said Carl Sedoryk, general
manager and CEO, Monterey-Salinas Transit. “The availability of a
contactless fare payment system means increased flexibility, and we
are thrilled to be collaborating with Visa and Caltrans to bring
the enhanced convenience and safety benefits of tap to pay to our
community.”
Bringing the MST Demonstration to Life
Cybersource, a Visa solution, Littlepay, a transit-focused
payments platform, and SC Soft, a transit ticketing and Automated
Fare Collection specialist, have been critical in bringing the MST
demonstration to life. Cybersource’s platform is powering the
fast-to-market deployment of contactless solutions in the mass
transit space, providing a full suite of payment and fraud
management tools and an extensive network of partners and
acquirers. Cybersource offers brand agnostic transit compliant
processing solutions and enables easier implementation of digital
payments for operators, while helping protect against fraud.
Littlepay provides mass transit transaction processing, including
the ability to cap fares and guarantee the best-value fare for
frequent riders. SC Soft is a system integrator specializing in
ticketing & Automated Fare Collection solutions for transit
agencies around the world.
“Cybersource looks forward to supporting Cal-ITP partners to
improve transit access within communities throughout the state,”
said Fernando Souza, Vice President, Cybersource. “There is a great
sense of urgency among transit operators to adopt these solutions
and we are committed to powering secure, seamless contactless
solutions in a world where no contact, touchless experiences are
here to stay.”
“Removing barriers to transit ridership underscores what Cal-ITP
is all about, and the launch of this contactless payment
demonstration represents a significant step toward a simpler and
more equitable public transit system throughout California,” said
Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin.
Adoption of contactless payments continues to grow in the U.S.
as more consumers realize they can pay for the things they need
with a simple and secure tap. In the US, one in 10 face to face
Visa transactions are now done with a tap, more than a 2x increase
since the beginning of the pandemic, showcasing increased consumer
preference for fast, touch-free payment experiences.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative,
reliable, and secure payment network - enabling individuals,
businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing
network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the
world and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction
messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is
a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any
device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future
for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to
digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and
scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,
visit About Visa, Visa’s Blog and @VisaNews.
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1 Visa Q2 FY21 Earnings Transcript 2 Caltrans, FY2018-2019
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Visa Tierney Deggelman 650 418 0352 tdeggelm@visa.com
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