Blog News

Open payments activated on public transport in Orléans

March 21, 2024 3 min read

Press Release, Thursday March 21:

Kuba and La Banque Postale are deploying the new ticketing system on public transport in the city of Orléans.

Bank cards will be accepted on the bus and tram networks.
Orléans Métropole anticipates significant adoption by occasional users of public transport and visitors to the city.

On Tuesday March 19, 2024, Orléans Métropole presented its new open payment ticketing system, deployed by Kuba, its long-standing ticketing technology partner, in partnership with La Banque Postale.

Romain Roy, Vice President of Mobility and Transport at Orléans Métropole said: “Open payment allows regular transport users and visitors to pay for their journeys with their bank card, smartphone or connected watch. By simplifying the lives of travellers, its introduction represents an important step towards encouraging more use of public transport.”

Open payment compatible validation terminals, integrated with new ticketing software, have been deployed on all vehicles in order to offer passengers a quick and simplified journey.

The solution will be put into service this month to allow passengers to use their bank card, whether physical or on mobile, as a transport ticket. By tapping their card or device on the new Kuba validators, they will be able to enjoy a seamless journey, benefiting from fares that are automatically adapted to their route.

Kuba won the opportunity to deploy open payment on the TAO network (Orléans) after a competitive tender process. “As a long-standing partner of Orléans Métropole, it was a great privilege to be selected to advance its next phase of innovation”, declares Tarik Dinane. “We are pleased to be invited here today, along with our partner La Banque Postale, to see this installation completed smoothly, on time and on budget.”

La Banque Postale, through its subsidiary eZyness, allows travellers to pay by bank card for their single tickets and their subscriptions, on the various channels available: physical machines, TPE, digital reservation platform or directly in a mobility situation with open payment. Through an integration with payment service provider Littlepay, it acts as Kuba’s ticketing partner for the acquisition and distribution of multi-channel collection flows.

This simple and innovative payment solution, based on NFC contactless technology, simplifies the lives of users. Invoicing occurs afterward: the most advantageous fare for the user is then applied, depending on the combination of journeys taken.

La Banque Postale has developed expertise in the field of open payment as an electronic payment acquirer, with a partner-based offer. It was the first French bank to implement the GIE Carte Bancaire open payment solution in 2019, which has been rolled-out in Amiens, Rennes, and on the connections of Orly and Roissy airports. In Besançon and Cannes, it has deployments in partnership with Kuba.

Kuba took on the two challenges posed by the project: a tight deadline for the implementation of open payment and temporary co-existence with the ticketing platform already in place to manage the end of life of the magnetic ticket.

For Orléans Métropole, it is vital that the TAO network offers users a diversity of payment methods during the transition to open payment, which opens a new era where bank cards and mobile phones become a simple means of paying for trips.

Tarik Dinane explains: “The contactless payment icon is known to everyone. The visitor immediately knows what to do when they board and see this icon on the validator. He intuitively presents his bank card or mobile in front of the validator and then enjoys his journey with complete peace of mind.”

About Kuba :

More than 500 cities and regions around the world use Kuba technology to make mobility payments simpler. Kuba has an office in Besançon, which has been established for more than 30 years. Around 90 urban and interurban transport networks have deployed Kuba solutions in France, making it one of the country’s leading suppliers of ticketing and payment systems for public transport.

About La Banque Postale

La Banque Postale, along with its subsidiaries, including CNP Assurances, forms a large international bancassurance group, 11th in the eurozone by the size of the balance sheet. Its diversified business model enables it to support 20 million individual and corporate customers and local public sector actors in France with a complete range accessible to all. A subsidiary of La Poste Group, La Banque Postale is a local bank, present throughout the country with 17,000 contact points, including 7,000 post offices.

With its strategic plan “La Banque Postale 2030”, it has set itself the ambition to become the favorite bank for French people, with an integrated and omni-channel offer of bank-insurance services structured around its three brands: La Banque Postale, its day-to-day bank, Ma French Bank, its 100% mobile bank and Louvre Banque Privée, its private bank.

La Banque Postale is accelerating its diversification strategy and developing its expertise businesses, particularly in asset management, insurance, consumer credit and corporate and investment banking.

Drawing on its citizen identity, La Banque Postale is working towards a just transition by integrating environmental and social impact objectives into the heart of its governance. A company with a mission since March 2022 and a leader in impact finance, La Banque Postale aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. It is in the top rankings of the non-financial rating agencies.