A bus ride down Penny Lane - the faster route to a cashless future

Liverpool is expected to become the UK's next city for time-saving and secure contactless payments, after MasterCard, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Stagecoach today announced a one year trial of MasterCard PayPassTM and Maestro PayPassTM on around 200 buses in Merseyside.

The major planned rollout in the second quarter of 2009 will be the first ever use of contactless bankcard payments on public transport in the UK and the first significant extension of the ‘Tap & GoTM' way to pay outside London for members of the general public.

PayPass allows cardholders to make fast, convenient and safe payments of £10 or less simply by ‘tapping' their bank card on a dedicated PayPass reader. The use of PayPass on Stagecoach buses in Liverpool will be as a direct replacement for cash, speeding up travel by removing the need to fumble for coins, or wait for change. Consumers will still be given the bus ticket as proof of purchase.

Cardholders will also be able to use the PayPass functionality in several shopping locations across Liverpool to make small value payments quickly. The PayPass feature can also be used elsewhere in the UK or overseas, anywhere MasterCard PayPass or Maestro PayPass cards are accepted. The cards can be used to make purchases in the traditional manner at all other locations that accept MasterCard or Maestro.

Leigh Clapham, General Manager, Developed Markets, MasterCard Europe, said: "MasterCard is the global leader in contactless payments. Together with RBS, we are combining that experience and market innovation to extend ‘Tap & Go' payments to people in the UK outside London. Through our major successes in transit programmes from New York to Taiwan, we understand that consumers demand fast payment of transport fares to speed up their journey, while being given the ability to select from all fare options available. By working closely with Stagecoach, who are equally passionate about making customers' lives easier, we can help Liverpool to become the UK's newest contactless city next year."

Ron Kalifa, Managing Director, Global Merchant Services and Commercial Cards, RBS, said: "RBS has been at the forefront of the move to contactless payments. It was an RBS card that made the UK's first contactless payment in McDonald's during August last year. This year we launched a PayPass pilot to offer contactless payments in a number of London black cabs. Now we are looking to build on the investment already made to take transport applications one step further."

Tom Wileman, Regional Director, Stagecoach Merseyside, said: "This new state-of-the-art system will make bus travel faster and more convenient for thousands of people in Liverpool every day and help attract car users to more sustainable public transport.

"Penny Lane was made famous by Liverpool's favourite sons, The Beatles, but today it takes on a whole new significance. Now the 200 Stagecoach buses on 11 different routes passing that landmark location will no longer need customers to fumble around for cash, but to simply 'tap' their PayPass debit or credit card to travel across the city. The bus really is the greener and smarter way to travel."

PayPass continues to gain strong momentum worldwide. As of Q2 2008, there are nearly 37 million PayPass cards and devices in use at more than 122,000 merchant locations worldwide. There are a number of PayPass trials and rollouts currently underway in 24 countries.