MegaFon and MTS are testing the fare in the subway using a mobile phone

It has been 2 years since MTS and Megaphone took on testing special SIM-cards that allow you to pay for travel in the Moscow metro using a mobile phone. To implement the service, a short-range wireless high-frequency communication technology - Near Field Communication (NFC) is used . It enables data exchange between devices at a distance of about 5-10 cm.

The press service of MTS reported that the operator and the state unitary enterprise Moscow Metro launched a comprehensive solution for payment of travel on the subway using NFC technology into test operation. In total, the test involves about 300 SIM cards.
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MTS is planning a commercial launch of the project at the end of 2010. - the beginning of 2011. On the territory of metro stations, special points will begin to work, where MTS subscribers will be installed an NFC antenna inside the mobile phone. An antenna can also be installed in any MTS salon in Moscow. The cost of the trip will correspond to the current metro tariffs; the subscriber will not need to pay any additional fees. The technical side of the MTS project is being implemented with the support of Express Card.

“We are pleased that our project with the Moscow Metro to realize the possibility of buying a ticket using NFC technology has entered the final stage. Many alternative projects for payment for services are being developed, but the uniqueness of the MTS project and the Moscow metro is the ability to pay for the trip directly from the subscriber’s personal account and then use the phone as a ticket. We are confident that due to its functionality and user-friendly interface, this project is promising for other regions, types of transport and other types of goods and services, which ultimately will contribute to the further development of mobile payment services in our country, ”said MTS Vice President by commerce Mikhail Gerchuk.

“Metro is the most popular transport in the city. And we are convinced that our passengers will appreciate the simple and convenient way to pay for travel using a mobile phone. This direction is very promising - today practically all citizens of Russia have a mobile phone. And for the metro, the launch of such a decision will contribute to improving the quality of customer service - the possibility for passengers to significantly reduce the time they purchase a ticket, reduce queues at ticket offices and passage through the lobbies at peak times, ”said the head of the Moscow metro Dmitry Gayev.



Megafon also began testing the same technology in the St. Petersburg Metro State Unitary Enterprise, and students and bloggers take part in the tests.
From the MegaFon side, the launch date of the project has not been announced, however, it can be assumed that Megafon will try to keep up with MTS. According to the director of the North-West branch of MegaFon, Georgy Getmanets, payment of travel on the subway using a mobile phone is the first stage, in the future the company intends to realize cashless payment of travel on land transport.

And what about Beeline?

A spokeswoman for VimpelCom (Beeline trademark) Anna Aybasheva told RBC that the company is in talks with several partners to implement a large-scale NFC project. She refused to provide more information about this project.

At the same time, according to A. Aybasheva, the operator intends to reach an agreement with the company Aeroexpress LLC on payment by means of a mobile journey on an electric train plying between Belorussky Station and Sheremetyevo Airport. You will be able to pay for the trip by bringing the phone to a special poster with a radio-frequency tag, after which the radio interface is launched, operating on a frequency with a radius of small action. After that, the subscriber needs to confirm the debiting of money from his account. This project is a test project, but if it is successfully completed, the scope of cooperation with Aeroexpress can be expanded.

I hope that this time it is not a seed for the press and soon Muscovites and St. Petersburg will have the opportunity to spend less time in queues at the ticket office of the subway.

Update 1: If someone from Habrovchan directly participated in the testing, it would be very interesting to read personal impressions.

Update 2: atenta suggests in the comments that Megafon plans to launch the service already at the end of December of this year. Pruflink . There you can learn more about how this service will work for MegaFon.

via RBC + Tried to dig more details.