Train passengers can check in and out from Tuesday 31 January with their debit card, credit card or mobile if they travel with NS, Qbuzz or Arriva. At the end of March, this will be possible throughout Dutch public transport, the NS expects. Checking in and out with a debit card works with OVpay.
With OVpay, travelers can only travel at full fare and in second class. The public transport chip card is therefore still required for subscriptions and first class, for example. To be able to pay with smartphones, users must have installed a banking app and linked a debit card to it.
NS says that the costs of journeys made per day are added together and are visible on the website the next day. payment statement from the bank or credit card issuer. Travelers can view their travel overview if they link their bank card to Mijn NS or via an OVpay site.
OVpay will work with the Dutch Railways, with Qbuzz trains on the Merwedelijn and with Arriva trains in Limburg from 31 January. The NS does ask travelers to offer passes separately at gates to prevent them from accidentally checking in with the wrong pass.
Checking in and out with a debit card was tested at NS since August. Later, OVpay said that the payment service will be would be available in all public transport at the end of 2022. Earlier there was talk about the summer of 2022, but this was not achieved due to ‘technical setbacks’. This was not the first postponement; in 2019 there was still talk of 2021, so that the public transport chip card could be phased out in 2023. OVpay can already be used in a large part of the Netherlands and is being developed by Translink and the public transport companies.
