" Contactless " Payments !

Few remember those old days when Sydney trams had both a driver and a conductor.  The job of that conductor was to roam the tram dispensing tickets and collecting the money. Travellers at that time would hear the familiar call of " Fares Please " as he moved through a crowded tram.

When the trams were discontinued and replaced by buses that created a new problem.  It took a lot of time for each traveller to shuffle in the cheque and buy a ticket from the driver, and exchanging coins for notes to offer change added to journey time.  We were desperate to find a better way than those paper tickets.

The Opal card has been an outstanding success. Passengers simply tap their card on a card " reader " and the world of electronics debits that fare from their account balance.  That same Opal card works on trains, trams, buses and ferries and the fare is calculated on the journey length.  The passenger simply taps on when they enter, and taps off when they depart.   We now have a " coinless " transport system.

The problem with the Opal card is it is something tourists and visitors to this city lack, and we have cruise ships disgorging thousands of passengers for a day visit when they are in port.   It is suggested that the system be extended to allow these same card readers to debit fares when tapped with either MasterCard or Visa cards.  This would certainly take care of the problem for tourists and those making short visits to this city.

Just such a system extension is being trialled on the Manly ferries and this includes the many forms of payment presentation other than plastic credit cards. In particular, most mobile phones now incorporate a link to a credit card and many travellers pay their fare by simply tapping their mobile phone on the reader.   This trial on the Manly ferries has been an overwhelming success.

This seems a logical extension of convenience.  Paying by a conventional credit card requires the card to be removed from a purse or wallet and returned after use.  In todays world, a mobile phone is usually held in the hand because of constant use to retrieve messages or to view news.  In most cases it would not slow progress either entering or leaving public transport when used for paying fares.

It seems that we are on the cusp of a payment revolution.  Most of the services billed on a monthly basis are fast moving to reach the customer by email rather than through the postal system and payment is similarly handled electronically.   The handling of cash has traditionally served to pay for those small transactions such as buying a newspaper, a cup of coffee or the sandwiches we consume for lunch.

Banknotes and coins pass through many hands and are considered unhygienic when handled with food.   They now pose a new problem for many merchants.  When the banks closed most suburban branches, they are also refusing to accept and count what amounts to the daily takings of most small businesses.   This must now be collected by a money transport firm, counted and transported to a central receiving depot - at that merchants cost.

The banks are enthusiastic to see the extension of small payments by their card systems because this will deliver valuable data on customers buying habits and preferences.  This search for " data " is boundless.   Paying small amounts with cash is simply a habit that is fast reaching its use by date. If tapping a mobile phone becomes normal to pay transport fares its extension to settle most other small amounts seems inevitable.  We are entering the " contactless " paying era !