Passengers who use their Opal transit card to pay for transport fares in the Australian state of New South Wales are to take part in a pilot of a digital version of the card which is set to go live before the end of this year.

The trial will involve 10,000 Opal card users and enable them to access the digital card via their mobile phone or smartwatch.

“The new Opal digital card will allow customers to tap on and off the network using a digital version of the card on their smartphone for the first time,” Transport for NSW says.

“The Opal digital card will also have the ability to be used on private modes of transport, making it even easier for customers to use Opal for their transport needs.”

Transport for NSW has awarded the contract for the pilot project to Mastercard in partnership with card technology provider EML Payments and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Transport for NSW originally announced plans to pilot the new digital version of its Opal transit card in January.

Next: Visit the NFCW Expo to find new suppliers and solutions