PayNearMe Scores Deal with Dallas Transit
PayNearMe is enabling Dallas commuters to pay transit fares in cash at nearly 800 retail locations through a partnership with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Fares can be loaded onto the existing DART GoPass app or the new DART GoPass card, the transit agency’s first reloadable NFC-enabled transit card designed and distributed by PayNearMe and Blackhawk Network.
The new cash-loading option and GoPass cards will be available beginning in March 2017 at retail locations, including participating 7-Eleven and Fidelity Express stores, as well as certain stores to whom Blackhawk Network distributes, according to an announcement. Also starting next March, riders located outside of the Dallas area will be able to load their DART accounts using cash at more than 17,000 stores nationwide.
GoPass will serve 250,000 transit customers and help reduce cash handling for DART, which said that more than 80 percent of fare value collected on buses or through its ticketing machines is paid in cash. PayNearMe CEO Danny Shader said the company plans to expand its transit solution to other U.S. cities.
Dallas follows Salt Lake City and Chicago in implementing contactless payment options that include a prepaid card. Transit has been a boon to contactless payments in such markets as the U.K., where more than 400 million contactless journeys have been made since Transport for London began accepting the cards in September 2014, according to a Telegraph report.
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