We’ve all been there. You wake up in the morning, late, because you forgot to charge your mobile and the alarm didn’t go off. You’re dead to the world, just like your phone but you need to get to work. You quickly throw on some clothes, run down to the train station, touch your phone against the ticketing gate and you’re through, ticket paid, and on your way to work, only a little late.
Of course, that last little bit is in an ideal world, but that’s the world secure element mobile ticketing offers. Secure element mobile ticketing means that the ticket is stored in the protected environment (secure element) of the passive NFC chip, which is placed inside the mobile phone. Many public transport operators are tapping into this solution with the help of the Fidesmo platform. Here are five reasons why.
1) A new level of convenience for travellers
So first and foremost, it’s very convenient having a train and/or bus ticket in an app on your phone. It’s not an everyday occurrence that your phone is out of battery, but with secure element based mobile ticketing, you never have to worry about it. Your ticket will be read no matter the charge – 100, one or zero percent – as it is stored in the phone’s passive NFC chip. And there’s no fuss over opening apps or scanning barcodes or QR codes – which you have to do with standard in app mobile ticketing.
2) High security offers unexpected benefits
Large banks, major credit card companies, and many fintechs are connected to and utilise secure elements through the Fidesmo platform, thanks in part to the high encryption / high security of the platform. Something that public transport operators will also benefit from. And a secure element mobile ticket cannot be copied and reused in the way a static QR code can be. The upshot of this is a reduction in fare-dodging, ensuring you receive payment for more journeys.
3) Low investment and improved sustainability
Consumers expect digital innovations from their public transport operators, which can mean large investments in scanners, optic readers, QR code and other costly systems. However, secure element mobile ticketing can be integrated into an existing tap and ride system that reads travel cards – significantly reducing the investment costs for mobile based ticketing. Additional cost savings can be made as fewer travel cards have to be produced, updated and/or replaced, which can also lower your environmental footprint. PTOs can also reduce logistic cost when enabling third parties to sell bearers in different form factors.
4) Scalable and easy to onboard
You’ve just read how easy it is to get started with mobile ticketing with a secure element as a PTO, but this solution is also beneficial for other transport services. City bikes and scooters can also start offering secure element based ticketing, making it smooth for the users to just tap the phone against the NFC reader and go. You can also use the same bearer for different mobility services, making it a seamless experience for the user. It’s all possible through the Fidesmo platform, which is designed to support this type of scalability, seamlessly.
5) Mobile is just the start
As the contactless payment market grows, more and more people are connecting their payment cards to wearables containing a secure element. Ticketing works according to the same principles. Once connected, commuters won’t have to reach for their phones, they can tap their wristwatches, rings, key fobs, or any other wearable to travel on public transport.
How is this possible?
Fidesmo provides ready-made integrations into secure elements in mobile phones. Our platform is the integration layer providing public transport operators with seamless secure access to a broad range of secure element devices – such as mobile phones and wearables. This provides a convenient and seamless public transport ticketing solution for all parties.
If you want a fast track to digitalizing ticketing that will improve the user-experience, meet the highest security requirements, and leave you room in your budget for other improvement projects and investments, Fidesmo is the answer.
Contact us for more information and to find out how we’re helping public transport operators in major cities around the world.
