Demystifying EMV Open Loop Payment

Making access as easy as possible is a key factor for attracting people to use public transport. And paying the correct fare might be one of the first challenges potential passengers face. Technological innovation has seen this come a long way from exchanging cash at a counter for a piece of paper. Technology has helped to make this process faster and safer, supporting various ticket types and payment methods.

With health and safety concern growing during the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless payment has seen an impressive uptake in many business sectors, removing the need to touch terminals or to exchange cash. Also, many public transport operators rolled out or enlarged contactless ticketing schemes to provide a safe means to pay for their customers.

EMV Open Loop Payment can take convenience to the next level. It allows users pay for mobility services as they go, with their preferred card or device, without deciding in advance how far or long they will travel – while being sure to pay the correct fare.

EMV Open Loop Payment can also bring clear benefits for the public transport operator:

• Digital payment helps to save costs by reducing the need for ticket vending machines or kiosks;
• Less queues for tickets contribute to higher throughput of passengers and smoother operation;
• Account based ticketing allows public transport operators to manage all relevant customer information in their account rather than on a card;
• The possibility to integrate multimodal activities and aggregate trips allow to design attractive offers and become the mobility provider of choice.

Sounds all good, but where to start?

The training programme will be delivered in the context of the Urban Mobility Open Loop Payment Forum. In this initiative, UITP has joined forces with major key players of the industry, including:

• Lead Partner – VISA
• Partner – American Express
• Supporting Partners – Scheidt & Bachmann, Flowbird, Thales

All trainers are top level professionals with extensive experience in designing and implementing public transport payment and ticketing solutions.

Guest speakers from leading public transport operators and authorities will share case studies illustrating their journey towards implementing EMV Open Loop Payment.

This activity is supported by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

The training aims to enable participants building a roadmap for the implementation of EMV Open Loop payment in public transport systems, the programme will:

• Outline the advantages and benefits of EMV Open Loop Payment;
• Help to understand the basic rules and processes of EMV Open Loop Payment;
• Explain the equipment needed, requirements to be met and the impact on existing installations;
• Clarify the mechanic of account-based ticketing and the impact on existing business processes;
• Address the integration with/ transition from other payment solutions;
• Gain an insight into the main challenges faced by public transport operators that successfully implemented EMV Open Loop payment;
• Provide an opportunity to brainstorm on solutions and innovative ideas with colleagues from public transport operators in the process of implementing EMV Open Loop Payment.

• Get inspired by our trainers, understand the main concepts and learn from successful best practice
• Participate in interactive plenary sessions with introductions by course leaders, presentations by trainers and open discussions with participants
• Challenge your practical knowledge on maintenance and asset management
• Address the topic from an international perspective, enriched by different cultural approaches and points of views
• Participate to practical exercises and case studies
• Benefit from a unique exchange of knowledge and experience between professionals

UITP Training Programmes and all related processes are certified for ISO29990:2010 – the standard for learning services for non-formal education and training.

Authority and Operator companies will be given priority to participate in this training programme. Industry companies will be approved one week before the start.

The training course has been developed for public transport organisations in the scoping phase developing a road map towards the implementation of EMV Open Loop Payment.

It is beneficial for:

• Staff in charge of building a fare collection strategy including open payment;
• Project managers that need to develop a delivery plan for the implementation of open payment;
• Procurements teams preparing tendering documents.