Open Loop Ticketing You Can Afford

Audience

This site is designed for stakeholders from:

  • Government and municipal entities responsible for mass transit ticketing
  • Ticketing system vendors providing software, hardware, and services to TAs
  • TAs
  • TSMPs
  • Smartphone wallet and payment solution providers
  • UWB vendors

The site highlights the key benefits of UniTiAg and provides implementation guidance.

What UniTiAg Is

UniTiAg is a global, cloud-based SaaS infrastructure that revolutionizes open-loop public transit fare collection. It seamlessly integrates with existing transit fare collection (ABT) systems and online marketplaces (TSMP) — platforms that settle revenue for service usage with TA merchants.

UniTiAg allows riders to tap their CRD, such as phone apps or cards, and gain access to transit services using a virtual balance (OTRB) without initiating a payment transaction at the transit validator, effectively registering the service, rather than selling tickets.

The TAs (sellers) are get paid (settled) by the TSMP for the services they provided. The riders (buyers) pay to the TSMP online for their OTRB refills.

This approach:

  • Eliminates EMV Level 3 card-present compliance costs for TAs,
  • Eliminates PCI DSS compliance costs for TAs when the CRDs are not cEMV payment cards,
  • Reduces PCI DSS compliance costs for TAs when CRDs are cEMV payment cards (PAN protection is required),
  • Enhances the overall user experience for TAs, their customers, and marketplaces worldwide,
  • Paves the way to public transit fare collection for non-card-based fare payments, such as direct banking, stablecoins, or cryptocurrency,
  • Integrates with fare collection methods utilizing new technologies like UWB.

With UniTiAg, Transit Agencies are no longer traditional brick-and-mortar merchants. The CRD tap is no longer a card-present payment transaction but rather a method of registration of a service paid through the TSMP.

What UniTiAg Does

UniTiAg facilitates fare payments through riders’ OTRB, enabling TAs to collect fares for the provided services via a common TSMP infrastructure.

Main Case: No Cards:

Explore the Rider UX in 8 minutes by downloading our DEMO TSMP app for Android or iOS.

Imagine, you want to use a smartphone or a smartwatch where you store your OTRB credentials to gain access to public transit services.

  • You create the OTRB credentials online using an app issued by a TSMP, like Amazon, Booking.com, or Coinbase *).
  • You refill your OTRB via a credit card, direct banking, a digital wallet, or PayPal. The variety of choices depends solely on the set of  payment methods supported by the TSMP.
  • A few minutes later, you can use this app at any validator of the participating TAs.
  • When your OTRB drops below a certain threshold level, which you set, you and the TSMP are warned.
  • The OTRB can be refilled  automatically by the TSMP if you configured a recurrent payment.
  • When you no longer need the OTRB, the TSMP refunds the OTRB amount to your payment method.

Legacy Case:  Open-Loop cEMV payment cards:

This case is applicable to the TAs who already are engaged in the classic open-loop transit payment projects.

Imagine, you want to use your contactless Visa, Mastercard, or other credit or debit card to gain access to public transit. This card is already registered as your payment method on your Amazon (Target, Walmart, Facebook, etc.) account *).

  • Using the TSMP app or website, you purchase an OTRB associated with this card.
  • A few minutes later, you can tap this card at any validator of the participating TAs.

Compare cost of fare collection here: COFC: UniTiAg Open Loop vs Classic Open Loop.

*) The names of TSMPs are used here purely as examples and do not imply that these organizations participate in the UniTiAg fare collection scheme.

Value Proposition for Two-Sided Marketplaces

By integrating the UniTiAg platform, you will:

  • Acquire additional online shoppers (transit riders): Expand your customer base by offering access to transit services through your online marketplace.
  • Acquire additional online sellers (TAs): Onboard TAs as sellers, offering their services via your marketplace.
  • Increase float: Utilize the funds generated from prepaid OTRBs that haven’t been paid-off yet.

Explore our TSMP mockup, AmuzeBuy to see how your TSMP can expand into transit services.

Download and try our DEMO TSMP app for Android or iOS. This is more efficient than any 8-min presentation.

Value Proposition for Ticketing System Vendors

By integrating the UniTiAg platform, you will increase sales of your systems and services, because you will:

  • Provide more efficient open-loop solutions for Transit Agencies (see Value Proposition for TAs below).
  • Provide a seamless transition from closed-loop and classic open-loop models to UniTiAg model, allowing TAs to continue using their existing validation devices and fare policies.
  • Enhance your open-loop solutions by implementing non-cEMV CRD technologies and non-card-based online payments tools.

Explore our PCI DSS-free Bye-Bye Cards Android app and its seamless cEMV-like communication with a card-reader.  

Explore our TSMP mockup, AmuzeBuy, our validator mockup, and try our simple APIs, to discover how you can offer even better services to your TA-customers.

Value Proposition for Transit Agencies

By integrating the UniTiAg platform with your ABT systems, you will:

  • Reduce the cost of fare collection in open-loop ticketing.
  • Accelerate time to market.
  • Reduce or eliminate the closed-loop cards.
  • Include underbanked and unbanked customers.
  • Satisfy your municipal constituency.
  • Redefine and widen your open-loop ticketing with UWB and other non-cEMV CRDs.

Open-To-Ride Balance

UniTiAg’s core concept is the Open-to-Ride Balance (OTRB), a balance linked to a CRD. The balance is shared among participating Transit Agencies (TAs). UniTiAg synchronizes OTRB updates in near real-time, ensuring all TAs reflect changes when funds are used.

The OTRB can be pre-authorized, prepaid, postpaid, or a combination, based on the rider’s creditworthiness and TSMP’s risk management policies. Once an OTRB is created, customers can tap their CRD at any participating TA for seamless access to transit services.

AmuzeBuy and Sandbox Environment

AmuzeBuy is a TSMP mockup showcasing the user experience that any TSMP can provide by implementing the UniTiAg TSMP API. Create a shopper/rider account, set up payment methods, manage OTRBs, and simulate card taps with our validator mockup.

AmuzeBuy runs on the UniTiAg Sandbox environment.

  • Open-Loop Ticketing software developers: contact us for access to the UniTiAg Sandbox to integrate your ticketing system using our  TA and TANB APIs.
  • TSMP developers: contact us for access to our fare validator and TA simulator to test your integration with UniTiAg using our TSMP API.