Clear2Pay has been selected to develop the functional test solutions for the public transport specific EMV contactless cards and payment terminals. Additionally, Clear2Pay will deploy a certification laboratory in Cape Town, enabling banks and third party vendors to locally qualify their cards and devices. This will support the strategic objectives of facilitating Automated Fare Collection (AFC) via bank issued contactless payment cards.

The number of commuters that rely on public transport in South-Africa is expanding rapidly. The government is therefore modernising the country's public transport infrastructure and services, transforming it into an integrated Automatic Fare Collection system. Various initiatives are currently being deployed in South Africa with a minibus taxi project already underway in the North West Province and imminent rollouts of new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and other public transport services in the cities of Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Before rolling out the EMV contactless cards and payment terminals, banks and third party vendors are required to submit their cards and devices to a mandatory certification process in order to validate their equipment against a set of specifications designed to ensure interoperability across all public transport services. To facilitate this, Clear2Pay will establish a local certification laboratory for which the company will collaborate with its local partner Iplex. The Integri branded test tools will be available for pre-certification purposes enabling vendors to prepare for official qualification. The new contactless card-based payment system is built on field-proven EMV technology, enabling the use of cards for low value retail payments as well.

Kobus Lombard, Consultant and Project Manager at Techso comments:"It's a pleasure to work on this prestigious project with Clear2Pay. Building on years of experience in certifying and testing payment devices, they were able to offer the creative sse solution we were looking for."

Jean de Crane, Chief Operating Officer at Clear2Pay adds: "Today, contactless ticketing solutions already ease the daily travel routine of millions of people around the world and Clear2Pay is eager to be instrumental in the further mass market adoption. As a company we are familiar with the highly innovative nature of the South African marketplace through the work we do with Standard Bank of South Africa and others. We are therefore delighted to be involved in the first EMV contactless public transport payment solution in Africa which will offer travellers the convenience of payments on-the-go."