Catenary
Active Member
Presto Ottawa is Open Payment, Compass in Vancouver is open payment, Oyster in London is (very soon) open payment. Tim Cards, Starbucks cards, etc. also tend to be OpenPayment.
There is a good chance you've already got 3 or more cards in your wallet which understand OpenPayment.
It's a standardized communication mechanism between card and terminal, vendors, and a standardized account numbering system. It is NOT a card or a restriction on who issues cards. You don't need to be a bank and most of the organizations issuing open payment based cards are not banks.
It's everything we learned by implementing Oyster and Octopus cards, and everything banks learned with systems like Interac all rolled into one convenient to implement package that everybody can use; except Metrolinx who decided to go off and create their own thing instead.
I think there might be some confusion between what is being thrown around as the concept of "Open Payments", where contactless credit and debit cards are used, and the Open Payment Initiative, which is a standard used between the software on the register and the card reader/processor unit.
Within transit, the concept of accepting open payments as you mentioned is being rolled out across some major systems, and some already have it. The difference between a closed and open system is that in a closed system, only fare media specific to the transit agency, for example a PRESTO, Oyster, Charlie, Octopus, or Clipper cards can be used with the contactless entry/POP system (other contact media, such as magnetic one use tickets, may also be available but these are not usually contactless). In an open system, each card reader is connected just like a normal POS terminal, and will charge any contactless payment card (payWave, PayPass and Flash) that is compatible with the system.
This doesn't mean that your Tim Card can be used to "Tap onto Transit". The only cards that can be used with the transit oriented definition of open payments ARE issued by banks, they are just the newer, RFID enabled cards. VISA and MasterCard have been doing it for a few years, Interac more recently. This doesn't restrict the transit operator from continuing to offer their own card though, similar to the fact that although Tim's takes debit, credit and cash, they also offer a "closed payment" solution, the Tim Card and it is popular enough. Credit and Debit cards also have some drawbacks when it comes to transit, for instance some systems (including London for the time being) can't handle using them for transfers or monthly passes, and they can't be used for volume discounts. Transfers and discounts are technology issues that will be solved over time, but monthly passes are likely a far way away. Just like Tim's offers the Tim card among other "open" options, some people will prefer to continue to use the PRESTO card or will have to for monthly passes.
There is no existing "Open" transit payments solutions. There are companies, like Cubic, that offer pre-built, tested solutions for contactless transit fare processing that support credit and debit cards, but they still require massive outlays of infrastructure to support the back-end handling of transfers, accounts and propriety cards for monthly passes. Although Metrolinx may have not gone with an existing solutions provider, there is no national or international standard for transit fare processing beyond debit and credit cards, which are just an overlay on an existing system.
Presto 1.0 is not compatible with Credit or Debit cards ("Open Payments") for a variety of reasons. As well as the equipment not supporting it, the majority of the bus fare transaction processors (BFTPs) are not networked in real time, they are only synced when in the garage. This is the reason for the 24 hour delay loading a card with money from online. Presto 2.0, as rolled out in Ottawa, does have equipment that will support open payments and is internet connected through the existing Clever Devices ASA/bus management system. This solves two problems, one it allows for theoretically instant loading of money onto a card when or if the back end is built out to support it, and two it allows for external methods of payment. At this time however, the system will does not accept open payments. I can confirm that the device detects and rejects my VISA card. Presto 2.0 also uses new cards which are more flexible in what they can store.
In the limited trials of accepting Credit/Debit through the PRESTO system in the TTC that exists now, it is comparatively easy to begin accepting payments. The fixed readers are already permanently networked, and since they are newer they support the wireless standards used by the banking industry as well as the ones used by PRESTO. It is only a matter of running software to allow the units to process payments, similar to a vending machine that supports the same with minimal back end required.
Overall, there will be people who want or need to use a PRESTO card in e-purse mode for the foreseeable future, possibly because they do not have a card compatible with open payments, due to lack of a back account or credit card. The PRESTO system isn't off the shelf, but there are no true options that are, all would require building a custom back end. It probably should have been built to support contactless credit/debit from the beginning however, since the TTC and other have always made it clear that is an objective of theirs.
NFC capability in cell phones is also becoming more and more widespread. This could be used in two ways, as a direct replacement for the PRESTO card using a PRESTO app, or as a Credit/debit using an app such as Google Wallet, although it is not available in Canada. Although some dumb decisions were made, PRESTO 2.0 should be the system that the GTA was looking for 3-5 years ago, and it's eventual deployment should last for years to come.
Wow, that was a big first post!