Companies sign landmark deal to offer UK transport contactless mobile ticketing
London – 23rd September 2014 - Masabi, the leader in mobile ticketing and payments for transit, and ACT, the digital transactions and payments specialist, have announced that the two companies are working together to bring ITSO ticketing to smartphones.
In joining the ACT Cloud Partnership Programme, Masabi joins the UK’s leading supplier of enterprise ticketing systems for public transport.
Masabi’s award-winning mobile ticketing technology is deployed and proven in both the UK and USA. This deal with ACT will see Masabi technology integrated into the ACT digital transactions and payments platform. Its mobile ticketing service will also be extended to facilitate the remote top up of smart cards as well as provide the future potential of using the mobile phone as a secure digital smart card.
Transport passengers need convenience and security when buying and loading their travel tickets, and smart cards have proven to be a popular tool for this purpose. As more mobile phone users switch to NFC enabled phones, using their phone as a ticket has become an obvious next step for ITSO smart ticketing. Now, with the development of feature-rich smart phones and advanced mobile ticketing technology, Masabi and ACT are set to accelerate the use of mobile transport ticketing across the UK and beyond.
Ben Whitaker, CEO of Masabi said: “Rolling out contactless mobile ticketing will provide greater convenience for transport users and reduce the cost of ticketing for operators. ACT is a proven innovator and digital transaction specialist and we are excited to have secured this relationship. Joining the ACT Cloud makes it easy for us to deploy a cost effective contactless mobile ticketing system across the UK transport network.”
Since the launch of ACT’s Cloud Partner Programme in September 2013, PayPoint Plc, Parkeon, Haven, TransaXiom, sQuid and RSL have already joined the programme to extend their services by plugging into ACT’s Cloud platform. Together, ACT and its Cloud Partners are extending ticket buying options for the convenience of UK passengers, and Masabi now adds mobile ticketing to the ACT Cloud platform.
ACT makes it simple to connect to its ticketing and payments cloud platform. All the communications, transaction processing and payments are managed in the ACT Cloud so retailers and suppliers of ticket vending machines and collection services don’t need to invest in additional hardware to gain contactless ticketing capability.
Gary Watts, CEO, ACT commented: “Masabi is an ideal mobile channel partner for ACT due to their extensive and complimentary experience in both bus and rail ticketing, both in the UK and USA. Together with our proven ticketing transactions and payments platform, we will bring contactless mobile ticketing to the UK. Passengers will be able to use their mobile phone as their ‘smart ticketing and payments card’ over the established and secure infrastructure created by Masabi and ACT.
“ACT’s Cloud Service has already made it simple and cost effective for our partners to extend their services to include smart ticketing and passengers are now starting to enjoy the benefits of extended retail channels and ticket collection points.”
About ACT (Applied Card Technologies Limited)
ACT provides secure enterprise class systems that enable the monetisation of complex transactions. It is a proven leader in the design, build and management of smart transaction systems that help people to make the best of their work, leisure and travel time.
Clients use ACT technology solutions to speed commuters through public transport, to help shoppers earn rewards, to provide access to public services and to make it easy for visitors to explore new places. Its systems are trusted by retail, tourism, payments, public sector and transport organisations large and small, and are at the heart of major cities around the world.
The company’s enterprise cloud platform already processes more than 1 billion digital transactions per annum and is in use by global transit operators, payments providers, retail and tourism brands worldwide including: Arriva Plc, First Group Plc, Go Ahead Plc, National Express Plc, sQuid, The Welsh Government, Transport Scotland, First ScotRail, Southern Railways, c2c railways, Transport For Greater Manchester, Merseytravel and PayPoint Plc.
For more information, please visit weareACT.com.
About Masabi
Masabi is the leader in transit mobile ticketing and payments, delivering end-to-end fare payment systems that deliver significant cost savings while revolutionising the customer experience. Masabi’s JustRide system signals the end of ticket lines, lost tickets and fumbling for cash by allowing passengers to quickly and securely buy and display tickets on their mobile phones. Masabi enables transit agencies to move away from traditional, capital intensive “locked-in” systems, such as smartcards and costly customised ticket machines, to a flexible, open system that transforms passengers’ travel experience today, with a roadmap to NFC and open payments in the future. Masabi is backed by Fontinalis Partners, m8 Capital and MMC Ventures.
The company’s scalable cloud-based technology already processes more than 90 million dollars per year, handles millions of connections per day, and is in use by 18 global transit agencies and retail brands, including: Virgin Trains, First Group, Boston’s MBTA, San Diego MTS as well as recently winning the contract to deliver mobile ticketing for New York’s MTA. Masabi has offices in New York, Boston, and London.
Media Contacts:
Temono for Masabi
Stephanie Ross
Tel: +44 (0) 207 089 8894
Email: stephanie.ross@temono.com