Utah Transit Authority is taking steps toward cashless bus and train fares with the launch of its new reloadable electronic fare card: FAREPAY. The card will enable commuters to simply purchase a fare card, load it with cash and use it to “tap” on and off any bus or train on the system, including the […]

There was a time in the not-so-distant past where “one card that would rule them all,” was a hotly discussed topic. Credit, debit, transit, multiple loyalty schemes and possibly even identification would all be placed on to one smart card for use everywhere and anywhere. Conferences dedicated sessions to the discussion of multi-purpose smart cards, […]

The Chicago Transit Authority is waiving the $5 fee to obtain a Ventra transit through the end of the year, according to the Chicago Tribune. With Ventra, customers are presented with the flexibility of a modern fare payment system, including faster boarding, account management and value protection. A simple “tap” of a contactless card enables […]

Undergraduate students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a wearable alternative to smart cards. The group came up with the Sesame — as in “open sesame” — ring for use on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system. Commuters simply tap the ring in the center of the card target, much like their existing Charlie Card. […]

Identive is working together with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore to design a new smart chip-based transit ticket for the Southeast Asian country’s extensive rail network. TransitLink, as the LTA administrator, has awarded Identive a three-year contract valued at $3.9 million to supply the tickets, which include near field communication (NFC) chips from […]

ABI Research released a competitive assessment of the NFC smart card market, revealing Oberthur as its highest ranked vendor. According to a release from ABI, Oberthur actually came in second to Gemalto in overall market presence, but Oberthur’s Implementation score was enhanced following its role as the first smart card vendor to achieve significant wins […]

 South Africa to use Datacard Group’s  MX series for card issuance The country of South Africa is in the process of transitioning from paper-based ID credentials to smart ID cards, and has chosen Datacard’s MX series to facilitate the personalization and issuance process. Datacard’s smart ID cards will replace South Africa’s current green, bar-coded paper ID books. South […]