Vodafone Netherlands this week revealed it will launch a nationwide pilot m-ticketing service with a view to adding it to Vodafone Wallet in the near future.
Initially 200 customers will be able to use the service, which enables them to use public transport by loading their travel pass onto their smartphone. To make the m-ticketing service possible, Vodafone Netherlands partnered with Dutch public transport companies, Translink – the company that issues and manages travel passes in the Netherlands – and incumbent telco KPN.
"Such a field test will give us valuable user feedback with which we can refine and finalise the product before its mass market introduction," said Bart Hofker, director of Vodafone Netherlands’ consumer business unit, in a blog post on Monday. "I am quite confident this will be a feasible goal."
If the pilot is a success, Vodafone plans to add the m-ticketing feature to its contactless wallet service Vodafone Wallet.
Vodafone Wallet is available in six countries, including the Netherlands. At the moment it offers contactless payments via SmartPass, the operator’s prepaid payment service that requires customers to add credit to their account before they can pay for goods or services.
However, in the coming weeks, Vodafone plans to let customers store MasterCard and Visa cards linked directly to bank accounts on Vodafone Wallet.
"With the addition of the public transport pass, the Vodafone Wallet is shaping up rather nicely," Hofker said on Monday.
