Several travelers in public transport recently saw money disappear from their account. This is because it has been possible to check in and out with a bank card since February. This check-in even happens if people have turned off contactless payment with their card.
Things go wrong when people hold several cards at the card reader at the same time. According to Gerbrant Corbee of Translink (the company behind the public transport chip card), the card with the strongest signal is scanned in that case. “As a result, it can happen that people check in with the public transport chip card and accidentally check out with a bank card.”
In that case, it means that both the public transport chip card and the bank card have been checked in. If there is no check-out, the boarding fee of 4 or 20 euros will be debited from both the public transport chip card and the bank account.
“Even if people have turned off contactless payment on their bank card, they can still check in and out in public transport,” explains Berend Jan Beugel of the Dutch Payments Association. “Bank cards with an NFC chip can always be used to pay at a parking meter, toll gate or check-in column.”
According to Beugel, banks have agreed on an international exception for this. This is done to ensure a smooth flow of traffic or travelers. But also because it is usually not possible to enter a pin code on such a device.
NS sees that things are going wrong
At the Dutch Railways, they notice that things sometimes go wrong, a spokesperson confirms. “Travellers have to get used to it.”
It also sometimes goes wrong with people who put their public transport chip card near the telephone. “If people pay with the public transport chip card while it is in their phone case, it may happen that the phone is scanned instead of the public transport chip card. That’s because the NFC chip in the device is turned on,” explains Beugel.
Travelers on public transport are therefore advised to only offer one pass when checking in and out, says Corbee of Translink. “In addition, people must check out with the same pass they checked in with.”
Money can be refunded
If things go wrong, travelers can still check out via the OVpay website or app. It is also possible to request a refund of the depreciated boarding fare. “We tried to make that as easy as possible,” says Corbee.
A tour of the Dutch banks shows that hardly any complaints or problems have been received since the introduction of OVpay. “What our colleagues at customer service mainly receive are positive reactions from customers,” says an ING spokesperson. “They are satisfied with traveling with the debit card and the convenience it brings.”
