InComm to Supply Utah Transit Authority with Prepaid Contactless Card (Feb. 7. 2013)
Feb. 7, 2013
The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), which has been at the forefront of U.S. transit system mobile payment development since introducing an open-loop, contactless payment system for city buses and trains in Salt Lake City beginning in 2009, this fall plans to add a contactless, closed-loop prepaid card to its consumer payment options. UTA selected InComm to supply the UTA-branded reloadable prepaid card that enables consumers who lack credit and debit cards to use the agency’s expanding number of contactless payment terminals, Jerry Benson, UTA’s chief operating officer, told attendees at the Smart Card Alliance’s annual Payments Summit Feb. 5.
In addition to extending contactless payment options to more people, the program’s goal is “to push distribution [of fare cards] out into the retail marketplace,” in an effort to reduce UTA’s burden of selling most of its fares through proprietary channels, Benson said. UTA, which serves 2.2 million residents in six Utah counties, has not released pricing details for the closed-loop card. A UTA spokesperson tells Paybefore riders will be able to tap the card on a reader when boarding a bus or train and then tap again when disembarking to deduct the appropriate fare from the card. UTA’s ticket vending machines accept all major credit and debit cards; riders may also pay fares directly with contactless credit or debit cards at contactless terminals located in many stations and on most buses. UTA participates in the Isis Mobile Wallet pilot, which launched earlier this year in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas. “The prepaid card is a new option to allow those who do not have a bank card or mobile wallet the same benefits of electronic ticketing as those who use a contactless debit or credit card,” the spokesperson says.
