Like us wrote, Last year, the Dutch rail carrier Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) experimented with using a bank card to travel on trains. In just a few months, more than 3000 passengers have taken part in this pilot project. And now NS is announcing the introduction of this payment method from January 31, 2023 nationwide.
Like in a supermarket
According to NS, this new feature is mainly intended for people who do not often travel by train. The technology is comparable to contactless payment in a supermarket. The passenger needs to check-in at the entrance and at the exit using his debit card, credit card, phone or smart watch, to which the payment card is linked. Credit card travel is also available on QBuzz and Arriva trains around Dordrecht and Limburg.
OVpay
Registration with a contactless debit or credit card is one of the new forms of payment that transport companies, in cooperation with banks, are introducing under the general name OVpay.
The cost of completed trips is summed up per day and is visible to the passenger the next day in the bank's payment overview. Passengers can find their trip overview by linking their bank card to Mijn NS or by entering the code at ovpay.nl/reisoverzicht, which is listed in the payment overview describing NLOV.
No discounts or additional services
With a bank card, you can only travel in the second class at full cost. To get a discount or travel first class, you still need to buy a ticket from a ticket machine or use a public transport chip card (OV-chipkaar). It is not possible to rent an OV bike with a credit card. “So far, this is only an auxiliary method of paying for travel”, says Tjalling Smit, NS Commercial Director.
It is expected that later this year, travel with a bank card will become possible in other types of public transport, such as buses, trams and metro.
Publication Date: 07.02.2023