PATCO tests prepaid transit/retail card
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefPATCO announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Cubic Transportation Systems to provide Philadelphia/New Jersey region riders with the first transit-branded, contactless Visa® prepaid card in the world. The Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Visa® Prepaid Card began a 12-month pilot program on Sept 26.
“This marks the first time that consumers will be able to use the same transit payment card for both transit and retail purchases,” said PATCO.“This type of payment system uses contactless bank cards that give users the opportunity to spend money wherever the card is accepted. The majority of transit fare cards in use today, such as the PATCO FREEDOM® Card, are closed loop payment systems, meaning they can only be used for transit payments.”
“Cubic is excited about this opportunity to field the first full deployment of a general purpose reloadable prepaid card,” said Steve Shewmaker, president of Cubic Transportation Systems Worldwide. “This is all about making life for the transit agency and their customers even more convenient.”
To participate, PATCO riders can get a free PATCO Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Visa®Prepaid Card with no enrollment free from brand representatives, who will be on site for the first two weeks of the pilot at six PATCO stations, where special kiosks will be located to enable customers to load their cards. Customers can also order and register their cards online at www.PATCOpilot.com.
