September 24, 2010
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News: Visa Test Mass Transit Payment App
It appears that these days nearly every area of an individual's life is connected to a debit or credit card transactions. We pay for food, parking, gas, food, even some churches have begun to take credit card weekly donations and gifts. Soon mass transit riders in New York City and Los Angeles will have the convenience of using their Smartphone to pay for rides. Reuters recently announced that Visa will begin testing two new programs that enable Smartphone customers to tap and go at the turnstile. Visa will not be the first to become involved with this type of testing, the company's number one competitor, credit card network MasterCard has already been running their own test in New York City.
Several reports indicated that New York's and LA mass transit riders have been discouraged because of the absence of debit or credit card payment services at the turnstile. Paying for a ticket at the counter often requires a visit to the automatic teller machine (ATM) which can often mean the difference between making it on one subway or train or having to wait for a later one. Consumers have made it well known that the convenience of paying for rides with debit or credit card is long overdue. Of course, it's likely that the next controversy will be the offering of the service to Smartphone users exclusively.
Visa teamed up with Bank of America to offer the contactless payment system to Smartphone users. The company does provide some encouraging news by indicating that if the trials are successful, they will look at expanding to other areas. With the new program an electronic information ticker that Smartphone users will adhere to the back of their phone will enable them to use the tap-n-go program. Currently, riders have the ability to order ride tickets online using their debit or credit card; however, the same option is not available at the turnstile. No time was specified as to when the program will be available.