NYC public transport finally gets the mobile payments memo

Despite the US being the leading voice in the technology industry, adoption of some pretty well-established technologies has been lagging across the country.

That is about to change in New York before too long, as the public transport system gets a much-needed upgrade to include Near-field communication (NFC) payments. Last week, Google announced it had integrated its payments system into the New York public transport system, and now Apple is getting in on the movement.

The contactless payment revolution has been sweeping the globe in recent years, drastically changing the way we work, play and get around. In London, for example, you can almost hear the groans of waiting customers when the now “old fashioned” chip and PIN method of payment is used. But contactless payments are now much more wide-spread than a speedy round of beers down the pub.

Contactless payments were first introduced on London buses in December 2012, and later extended to Underground and National Rail services in September 2014. The Oyster Card system is quickly becoming a thing of the past, with Transport for London (TfL) now claiming more than 50% of journeys are completed using contactless payments. In fact, TfL believes it is saving between 9-14% on fare collection because of the introduction of contactless payments.

Of course, London is not the only city which is making use of the new technology. Globally, there are now more than 100 cities making use of contactless payments, including the likes of Sydney (introduced in 2018), Moscow (2017) and Madrid (2017).

What is worth noting is there are different types of systems. Madrid, for instance, requires you to buy a specific ticket as opposed to using your debit of credit card, while Sydney only upgraded to NFC mobile payments earlier this year. That said, progress is progress.

And the benefits are more than just operational efficiencies for the public transport systems. It is substantially quicker than traditional means, a very important factor when you consider how many people are moving out of the countryside and into the cities nowadays. According to the UN, 68% of the world population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050, up from c.55% today. There will be considerable strain placed on public transit systems before too long.

In New York, this is an upgrade which is long-overdue. Google is introducing its mobile payments systems to the Subway from May 31st, as will Apple. The tap-to-pay system will only be available on the 4/5/6 lines between Grand Central Station in Manhattan and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center in Brooklyn to start with, as well as the buses in Staten Island. This is only the beginning however, as the plan is to rollout the system across the entire public transport network over the next few months.

Over time this system will begin to improve. Google has already said it will continue to work with The Metropolitan Transportation Authority to bring more features with Google Maps and Google Assistant, much like it does with many other cities around the world.

Welcome to the digital world New York!