Visa and Planeta Informatica launched a new technology that enables public transit operators worldwide to implement contactless payments faster and easier than ever, and for a much lower cost. Transit operators using the new Visa Secure Access Module (SAM) will find it easier to start offering riders the ability to tap to pay with a contactless card, phone or wearable device, without the need to replace current turnstiles or terminal hardware.

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In major cities around the world, contactless payments are shaping the future of mass transit, helping riders save valuable time by eliminating the need to stand in line to buy or re-load a ticket. Transit operators who have invested in turnstiles and terminal readers recently, won’t need to install new turnstiles or hardware. Instead, the Visa SAM, which is based on secure EVM contactless technology, can be installed directly into the existing system, says a press release.

“This is a transformational development for public transit operators that want to improve their customers’ journeys and reduce their operational costs by removing the need for tickets or topping up fare cards,” said Nick Mackie, Global Head of Urban Mobility, for Visa. “Through our work with Planeta Informatica, we have pioneered a way to accelerate the shift to contactless transit that is scalable and highly secure, while generating time and cost savings for transit operators by removing the hurdles of replacing potentially thousands of transit readers across the transport system.”

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Artur Costa, CEO of Planeta Informática commented:

“The new Visa SAM technology combines 15 years of our experience in public transportation with the Mass Transit Transaction (MTT) framework, a state-of-the-art payment framework released by Visa in 2017. We worked diligently with Visa to build the best technological solution for adding EMV contactless acceptance on top of any existing closed-loop payment system without necessarily replacing the entire electronic ticketing infrastructure.”