MIFARE

Sri Lanka Deploys Contactless Ticketing and Payment Technology 3. February 2014

Dialog Axiata PLC, Orik Payments Solutions Limited and NXP Semiconductors announced that 20.6 million commuters in Sri Lanka will be able to use NXP’s MIFARE DESFire technology for secure contactless payments and transport ticketing in Sri Lanka. The initial user began on June 6, 2013 in the country’s capital of Colombo, and has since January 2014 been extended to full deployment with multiple routes and busses in Colombo bringing the benefits of contactless and secured smart life solutions to Sri Lanka. The system will be rolled out nationwide in Sri Lanka in the course of 2014.

The deployment of the new ‘TOUCH travel card’ contactless smart card marks a milestone for Sri Lanka. It joins the large number of countries worldwide that use contactless electronic ticketing in their public transport systems, increasing passenger convenience while boosting efficiency and security for public transport operators. In addition to transport ticketing, TOUCH will work as a payment solution in shops and taxis in the near future. Passengers simply hold their contactless smart card next to the reader and payment is taken automatically.

After careful evaluation of the available smart card technologies, Orik Payment solutions – a leading payment solutions company based in Sri Lanka – and Dialog Axiata PLC – Sri Lanka’s Mobile market leader – decided to use NXP`s MIFARE DESFire for the national roll-out of the electronic ticketing and payment service. Using this technology will also enable NFC-based mobile phone ticketing in the near future.

TOUCH will leverage Dialog’s existing eZ cash project – also based on MIFARE DESFire technology – with more than 14,000 recharge points and more than 12,000 retailers accepting eZ NFC payments. To provide a secure infrastructure service, Dialog and Orik have also implemented NXP´s reader ICs and MIFARE SAM AV2 for secure key storage and back-end connection to the central server.

Mr. Anthony Rodrigo, Chief Digital Services Officer for Dialog Axiata PLC, said, “Our cooperation with Orik and NXP enables contactless ticketing and micro payments, and is another bold move to bring the best services to our customers. TOUCH users can use their smart card for public transport and payment by just holding the card in front of the reader, which is exceptionally convenient. The successful deployment and implementation of the service along with the ongoing live operations bear testimony to the robust nature of the solution.”

Patrick Henzen, CEO of Orik Payment Solutions, said, “We are very excited to cooperate with Dialog to enable contactless smart card solutions and NFC projects in Sri Lanka. It has been Orik’s vision to kick-start Sri Lanka into the era of contactless technology and doing this side-by-side with Dialog is a great way to accomplish this. The thought that shortly we can pay for transport, goods or services by just swiping a card or our mobile phone in front of a sales-terminal is very exciting and will bring increased convenience, transparency and business opportunities to everybody. Choosing NXP MIFARE DESFire is a logical step in reaching these goals, as it is secure, well-established and has a well-developed supply chain.”

Martin Gruber, general manager automatic fare collection, NXP Semiconductors, said, “MIFARE is used in more than 650 cities worldwide and enables a huge number of secure and convenient contactless solutions in over 40 different applications like transport ticketing, payment or access management, helping cities to become smarter and more livable places. On each project, we are working closely together with our partners to create solutions tailored to the customer´s needs. This engagement and the broad product portfolio of MIFARE and NXP, enables us to deliver complete solutions and ensure service sustainability.”