Apple Pay Express déployé sur le réseau TCL

Since Thursday 8 December, iPhone owners have been able to use Apple Pay Express to pay for their tickets on Lyon's public transport system (TCL). Apple Pay was already available, but this is another step towards simplifying this contactless payment operation in a mobile situation.

FACTS

• Since the beginning of the year, with TCL Carte Bancaire, it has been possible to pay for journeys by validating a contactless payment with your smartphone against the new terminals installed in the city's metros, buses and trams.

• Transport Express, installed at TCL by Worldline, makes the operation more transparent. All you have to do is present your iPhone at the terminal for the transaction to be validated.

• There is no need to take the phone out of standby or to identify yourself with Touch ID or Face ID beforehand.

• A bank card registered in the iPhone's Wallet should normally have the Express Transport mode activated by default. It is also possible to designate the card to be used in the iOS settings at "Cards and Apple Pay". Conversely, it is possible to disable this option to prevent payments being made using this method.

CHALLENGES

• Transforming the phone into a real payment ticket: users of Lyon's public transport system (TCL), managed by SYTRAL Mobilités, will only have to put their iPhone or their Apple Watch on the validators to travel with a single tap, assures Worldline. This also works when you run out of battery. iPhones from XS/XR and SE 2 upwards have a reserve mode that allows them to carry out such transactions via NFC for up to 5 hours after their screen has gone blank and requires power.

• The need for seamlessness: faster boarding for passengers, less hassle with money, cards or tickets and increased security, as passengers no longer need to open their purse or wallet to travel on public transport.

• Security flaws identified: In 2021, a team of British academics had nevertheless identified a security flaw in Apple Pay's Express mode for Visa payment cards and managed to communicate with phones by posing as a payment terminal.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• This system can be used for transport tickets, but also for electronic keys, tickets, vouchers or ID cards such as student IDs. If their suppliers have adopted this function, of course.

• For the TCL, managed by Sytral Mobilités, the next step would be to allow the dematerialisation of one's monthly ticket to pass through the turnstiles by presenting one's iPhone. This has already been the case for quite some time with Android models.

• In a recent interview, the head of Île-de-France Mobilités confirmed the launch of the Navigo pass and metro tickets on iPhone "between June and September 2023". Available tickets, integration with Apple Wallet...