Are you using OV-chipkaart, but would prefer to be able to pay at the terminal immediately with a bank card? We have good news for you.
Already in the summer of 2022, a bank card and a smartphone will be able to replace your travel card (OV-сhipkaart) or individual tickets. At the same time, OV-сhipkaart will not go anywhere until the end of 2023.
In test mode, OVpay (the name of the new public transport payment system) has already been launched in Lelystad and the Gooi en Vechtstreek region. There, you can make incheken (register at the terminal at the entrance) and uitcheken (pay for travel at the exit) on buses using a bank card and phone (to which a bank card is tied). It is not required to notify the driver in advance that you want to pay in a new way.
OVpay is expected to be available on all types of public transport in the near future. The OVpay app is also coming soon.
Why, after 16 years of using OV-сhipkaart, was it decided to switch to new types of payment?
- To keep up with the times. You can attach a bank card to the terminal in public transport in many cities around the world - from Moscow to London.
- To give public transport users more alternatives and convenience. Forgot your travel card? You can buy a ticket from the driver (which, by the way, is impossible on a tram or train), then attach it to the terminal and thus create a traffic jam in the aisle. And you can immediately make incheken with a card or smartphone.
- To attract new passengers - those who did not want to bother buying a travel pass before.
“The philosophy of new payment methods is that the traveler chooses what suits him best. The innovative program is aimed at increasing the number of passengers through new payment methods. We can also offer many more services. For example, checking on the platform through the app whether you have done incheken or not, ”Bas van Weele, program director for public transport payments, told ovpro.nl.
Publication Date: 27.12.2021
