The Netherlands becomes the first country to introduce a fully contactless transit payment system nationwide

The Netherlands has become the first country to introduce a fully contactless payment system for public transport all over the country. The country implemented the OVPay technology and infrastructural payment system in partnership with Mastercard, a global technology in the payments industry.

All public transport across the country – including trains, buses, metros, and trams – now accept OVpay, an open loop system consisting of upgraded infrastructure and innovative software that ensures frictionless journeys throughout the country and secure payments.

In the launch of OVpay, Mastercard played a crucial role by collaborating with the joint public transport companies and Translink, supporting local banks in implementing mobility transaction processing rules. Additionally, the company facilitated the installation of necessary software updates and components to drive forward nationwide innovations in the Netherlands.

The streamlined payment system improves the travel experience for both residents and visitors in the Netherlands by offering various payment options, including debit and credit cards, as well as smartphone or smartwatch payments through uploaded card wallets. With OVpay, the need for physical tickets or transport passes is eliminated, except for those with subscriptions, resulting in enhanced efficiency, reduced congestion, environmental sustainability, and improved livability for commuters and tourists alike.

“We’re more than proud that we supported the Netherlands to be the first country in the world to make checking in with a debit and credit card in public transport nationally available. With this implementation, we make public transport more accessible to the wider public,” says Jan-Willlem van der Schoot, Country Manager, The Netherlands. “We see that many people faced hurdles when wanting to take public transport. From now on, no need to separately buy tickets or miss your train because the balance on your public transport card is too low. This has been an amazing team effort. So many people worked very hard on it during the last couple of years. It’s incredible to see how our efforts and those of our partners have made this happen.”

Open loop payment solutions are already accepted in metropolitan areas around the world, including London, New York City, Sydney and Milan, but has never been launched comprehensively nationwide before.