It used to be that credit cards were only plucked out of a wallet for pricey purchases that cash couldn’t cover.
Nowadays, as Brian Weiner points out, no one blinks an eye if they use their credit card to buy a cup of coffee.
“Transit is the segment that hasn’t really kept up and so we really do see it as the next big frontier for contactless payments,” said Weiner, Visa Canada’s vice-president and head of product.
This changes May 22 in Metro Vancouver as TransLink begins accepting credit cards for contactless payments across its bus services, SkyTrain lines, SeaBus routes and the West Coast Express.
For locals who left their Compass Card at home or tourists who haven’t mastered the ticket machines, they’ll be able to tap their contactless Visa or MasterCard on the card readers (sorry — no swiping or chip-inserting transactions) to navigate through the region’s transit system.
Smartphone users will also be able to use Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay to cover their transit fares.
Signs and workers throughout Metro Vancouver’s transit system have been cautioning riders to prepare for the new tap payment service.
When implementing the system locally Weiner said Visa Canada has benefitted from the knowledge acquired undertaking contactless credit card payments throughout the transit system in London, England.
“There’s a lot that has to go into the plumbing of a payment system for transit,” he said.
For starters, the payments have to be authenticated much quicker than they can be authorized, otherwise bottlenecks would form at fare gates.
“The card gets authenticated at the terminal level so that you know that it’s a real card, it’s not a counterfeit card, it gets checked against a white list or a black list,” Weiner said.
“And then the turnstile opens, the consumer walks through, they walk onto the bus or the train or the ferry. And the authorization takes place at a subsequent time. And that process enables us to be able to move the people through the turnstiles just that much more quickly.”
So what happens if a SkyTrain rider’s credit card is authenticated and they pass through the fare gate but the payment is later determined not to be authorized?
Could a rider be stuck in a SkyTrain station when they try to tap out?
Weiner said this would not be the case.
Riders would be able to leave the station but they could not use the card to re-enter until the authorization issue has been resolved.
Meanwhile, TransLink has been urging users to avoid what it calls “card clash” by tapping the specific card they want charged instead of pressing their wallets against the terminals.
Weiner said there’s no risk of being charged twice but problems could arise since the terminal will charge whatever card it detects first.
So if a rider is counting on using his or her monthly pass through the Compass Card, there’s the risk that the credit card could be charged instead.
