In-Depth: Open Loop ‘Mobility Marketplace’ Sees Few Orders or Launches During First Year; Backers Contend More Projects in Pipeline

Card tapped at terminal-California
California’s bold experiment into helping transit agencies procure technology to launch open-loop payments is off to a slow start, with only eight agencies–most very small–placing orders with state-vetted vendors through December, Mobility Payments has...

Budapest Transit Agency Confirms Mastercard Will Pay for Open-Loop Pilot but Won’t Say How Much

Budapest shuttle bus
Mastercard is footing the bill for a large share of the cost to roll out and operate an open-loop payments pilot for Budapest transit agency BKK, but the agency won’t say how much the payments scheme is paying, Mobility Payments has learned. [...]

Preview Article

In-Depth: Canadian Transit Agencies See Low Adoption of Open-Loop Payments

SkyTrain-Vancouver
Despite a high-profile launch recently of domestic debit card acceptance in Canada and more open-loop rollouts there, Canadian transit agencies say they have no plans to promote open-loop payments over their close-loop cards. [...]

Preview Article

Contractor for Fast-Track Open-Loop Procurement in Barcelona Gets Pressure over Key Technology Supplier

Barcelona Metro sign
The main contractor for Barcelona’s open-loop payments project has chosen a local company over Brazil-based Planeta Informática to implement a key technology for the rollout, after apparently receiving pressure to hire a local subcontractor, sources told...
Preview Article

Baltic Transit Agency Awards Five-Year, ‘Low Risk’ Contract to Vendor to Provide Open-Loop Payments Service

Klaipeda bus Lithuania
In what will be the first open-loop payments service launched in Lithuania, the transit agency serving the Baltic country’s third-largest city plans to launch the contactless EMV service by July of this year, Mobility Payments has learned. [...]

Preview Article

Singapore’s LTA Sees Strong Take-Up of Open-Loop Payments but has No Plans to End Closed Loop

Singapore MRT
Since launching open-loop payments in 2019, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has seen adoption grow to more than 30% of adult full fare trips, and the authority has eliminated single-trip paper tickets. [...]

Preview Article