Apple integrates transit cards with Maps in iOS 16
Apple iPhone users can now check public transport fares and add transit cards to Wallet as well as check and replenish an existing card balance directly from Maps... More
Sydney
Transport for NSW to pilot Opal+ Mobility-as-a-Service app
Transport for NSW is to officially launch the digital version of its Opal transit card that enables passengers to pay fares by tapping a reader with their NFC smartphone or smartwatch and to begin trialling a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app that will let users plan, book and pay for multimodal journeys across both private and public transport services... More
National QR payments system goes live at Subway stores in Australia
Two Subway outlets in Sydney and Brisbane are “the first major Australian quick-service restaurants” to let customers pay for their purchases using the national QR code payments and rewards platform developed by Australia’s Eftpos payments system... More
Sydney to trial multimodal Mobility-as-a-Service app with subscription options
Transport for NSW is to pilot a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app in Sydney, Australia, that will enable passengers to plan, book and pay for journeys across both private and public transport services and opt to purchase a prepaid multimodal mobility plan... More
Researchers propose patient monitoring system for remote Covid-19 wards using NFC tags
Researchers at Rajalakshmi Engineering College in Chennai, India, and in Sydney, Australia, have published a paper laying out the framework for a “contactless tele-health system” that uses NFC technology to enable healthcare workers to upload, access and update health and treatment data for individual patients in remotely located mobile Covid-19 quarantine and isolation wards... More
Ticketing agency lets fans buy tickets via NFC App Clips
Ticketing agency Ticketek has launched an App Clip that enables iPhone users attending sports or other live events in Australia to purchase digital tickets by tapping an NFC tag or scanning a QR code displayed outside venues without needing to download the firm’s app... More
Sydney integrates digital Opal card with rideshare services
Commuters in Sydney, Australia, will soon be able to use a digital version of their Opal transit card to pay for taxi fares and rideshare services and earn credit towards the cost of public transportation services they then transfer to... More
Transport for New South Wales to pilot RFID tags for transit ticketing
High school students at Magdalene Catholic College in Sydney, Australia, are to trial RFID transit ticketing tags that come with an operating distance of up to two metres, enabling an on-board reader to detect students automatically as they walk onto a bus... More
LA Metro to let passengers add their TAP transit card to Apple Pay ‘this year’
Public transport users in Los Angeles will be able to add their TAP transit card to their iPhone or Apple Watch “this year”, LA Metro has announced... More
Transport for NSW to pilot digital Opal card
Transport for NSW has announced plans to pilot a new digital version of its Opal transit card that will enable cardholders to “pay for all modes of transport — whether it be light rail, a bus, on demand service, taxi or Uber — with a single tap of their phone.”... More
Transport for NSW launches Opal Connect transportation payments platform
Australia’s Transport for NSW has introduced Opal Connect, a new service that aims to become “a one stop shop for all transport transactions and information, whether it is public transport, rideshare, taxis, parking and even tolling”... More
Transport for NSW completes rollout of open loop contactless ticketing
Public transportation users in Sydney, Australia, are now able to use contactless bank cards, NFC phones or wearable devices to pay for travel across the entire Transport for New South Wales network, including bus services... More
Sydney extends Opal transit card benefits to contactless and mobile payments users
Savings for commuters using contactless payments — Commonwealth Bank of Australia — “Commuters using contactless payments will now also receive Opal travel benefits, including: Daily, weekly and Sunday travel caps in line with Opal caps; Weekly travel reward (half price after eight trips); The Opal transfer discount; Off-peak pricing for train travel… The trial is also extending to the Sydney bus network in a staged roll-out over the coming months.”
CBA builds location tracking security into mobile banking app
CBA app wants your location, biometrics in name of security — CIO Australia — “If we see a transaction coming out of Hong Kong but we know from a customer’s phone they’re in Melbourne or Sydney: straight away that gives us an opportunity to spot a discrepancy and block it straight away… If we’re not sure we’ll pop into the app with a question in real time and we ask the customer to help us, and they can swipe or click to say yep I’m comfortable with this or no this is something I don’t recognise.”
Airlines commit to RFID baggage tags and single biometric ID for travellers
Two new resolutions passed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will see global adoption of RFID for airport baggage tracking and a move from passengers using paper documents to a single biometric ID they can use to prove their identity at any airport anywhere in the world... More
Tourism Australia adds visitor card to Alipay
Tourism Australia, Alipay partner on new geotargeted Sydney City mobile app — CMO — “Chinese tourists will be able to access recommendations on what to see, where to shop and how to get around, all within an app they are familiar with and while being offered their preferred payment method… The Sydney City Card is built into the Alipay app, so no opt-in is required.”
Sydney commuters can now use Fitbit wearables to pay for transit rides
Sydneysiders can now use Fitbit Pay to quickly and easily tap on & off at transit readers — Fitbit — “Following the contactless payment strategy rolled out by NSW Transport on Sydney’s ferry, light rail and train networks in November, Fitbit users can now use selected Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cards loaded into their Fitbit Pay Wallet to pay for their trip… Fitbit users in Sydney with a Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit Versa and its newest tracker, Fitbit Charge 3, can now leave their Opal cards at home and instead use Fitbit Pay on their Fitbit device to quickly and easily pay for public transport.”
Sydney’s public transport operator integrates on-demand transit service into its ticketing system
First on-demand operator taps into Opal — iTnews — “Transport for NSW has expanded its OpalPay payment method to allow the first on-demand public transport operators to tap into the Opal card system… The payment method will now expand to on-demand public transport services operated by Transit Systems in Sydney’s Inner West. The on-demand service, which will launch new week, is the latest in a series of on-demand services now operating across Sydney and Newcastle.”
Commuters on the F1 Manly to Circular Quay ferry first to tap into contactless ticketing on one of Sydney’s most iconic routes
Commuters on the F1 Manly to Circular Quay ferry first to tap into contactless ticketing on one of Sydney’s most iconic routes — Mastercard — “Paying for a ferry ride is now as easy as tap-and-go, as Mastercard and Transport for NSW bring contactless ticketing payment to Sydney Ferries… In an Australian first, commuters can use their Mastercard contactless card or mobile wallets that have enabled Mastercard cards to tap on.”
Opal card implanted into Sydney man Meow-Meow could be deactivated by NSW authorities
Opal card implanted into Sydney man Meow-Meow could be deactivated by NSW authorities — ABC News — “Transport authorities in New South Wales have threatened to deactivate an Opal card that has been implanted in a Sydney man’s hand… ‘Transport for NSW does not support the tampering or damaging of Opal Cards, which would be a breach of the terms of use,’ they said.”