‘Frankly Outrageous’: Open-Loop Pioneer Says Interchange Fees for Transit Agencies Too High, Especially in U.S.

Phone at terminal in Santa Barbara

Shashi Verma, chief technology officer for Transport for London and the driving force behind the agency’s landmark open-loop payments service, called for greater regulation of interchange rates outside of the UK and European Union to reduce fees agencies pay. […]

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Special Report: Despite Industry Push, Few Transit Agencies Rolling Out ‘Closed-Loop EMV’ So Far

OMNY cards

Transit agency Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, or SL, in Stockholm launched what is believed to be the industry’s first rollout of white-label EMV cards for its closed-loop customers in September 2021. To date it has issued around 1.5 million cards, which customers use frequently. […]

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Dutch National Rail Operator to Launch Open-Loop Payments as Part of Nationwide Rollout in Netherlands

NS train, Netherlands

Nederlandse Spoorwegen, or NS, the Dutch national railway and by far the largest transit operator in the country, yesterday announced it will launch open-loop payments next Tuesday. While open loop will only apply to single ticket sales–a reported 10% of NS’s total trips–the launch is a major milestone for the Netherlands’ nationwide EMV payments project. […]

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