The card will be available at A.T.M. Ravenna points from 14th January 2010, and can be reloaded at Post Offices (annual maximum limit 2,500 Euro), at Postamat ATMs using the Postamat card or other payment cards and at participating Sisal stores.

Thanks to this project the city of Ravenna, a pioneer in the use of methane for its buses and soon to announce its candidacy as European Capital of Culture for 2019, offers its 7,000 regular public transport passengers the possibility to use a unique service which, for the first time, combines a travel pass and a prepaid card in a single instrument that is simple to use, convenient and secure. Developed with the latest contactless technology, Postepay&Go unites traditional payment functions with those for the purchase of public transport fares.

TSP (Tecnologie e Servizi per il Pubblico) - the SIA-SSB Group company specializing in systems and services for corporates and public administration bodies - will manage, through its technology infrastructure "Gateway", all the transactions relating to the card reloading via the acceptance channels provided (Internet and Postamat) as well as the accounting flows for clearing of payments and the relative accounting reporting.

This initiative makes use of a multi-channel platform that in the future may also offer further services such as the option to purchase/renew tickets and travel passes via new acceptance networks, like bank ATMs and large scale retail outlets.

"We are delighted to undertake this project together with Poste Italiane and A.T.M. Ravenna. The aim was to develop a multi-functional card for the payment of fares, travel passes and other day-today products and services - comments Paolo Battiston, General Manager of MasterCard Italia. The new card helps people living in Ravenna in their daily operations: from purchasing bus tickets to paying for their grocery shopping, all with just one card in their wallet. The innovative spirit and the culture of a historical town like Ravenna are combined with the security and knowledge of possessing a universally-accepted tool."

"Poste Italiane reaffirms its role as a company at the service of citizens thanks to a product faithful to the principles of simplicity, innovation and maximum ease-of-use - states Alessandro Albano, Payments Systems Director, BancoPosta. Our aim was to combine service innovation with the tradition and experience that lend this initiative the values of security and reliability. Postepay&Go is also a response to the needs of a modern city wishing to protect the environment and its heritage, and that looks to the future through innovative solutions accessible to all."

"In Ravenna we are starting up the experimentation of the Stimer ticketing system promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region with the inauguration of the new devices for the validation of e-tickets, and the introduction of microchip cards. - says Renzo Brunetti, Manager of A.T.M. Ravenna. Once the current test period is over, we will gradually replace the paper-format travel passes already in circulation with the new microchip cards through suitable advertising campaigns aimed at the different user categories, and then we will go to the subsequent phase when the new passes will be issued directly in their electronic format."

"The realization of this innovative project for A.T.M. Ravenna is a tangible example of the SIA-SSB Group's ability to offer state-of-the-art services and solutions in the field of payments systems also to new sectors like public transport", comments Francesco Orlandini, General Manager of TSP, Tecnologie e Servizi per il Pubblico (SIA-SSB Group). "We are really proud of our contribution towards the development of a multi-channel infrastructure that is aimed, above all, at the citizens of Ravenna: a significant example of how technology is a winning factor when, as in this case, it contributes to making everyday life easier".