Smart Ticketing and payment solutions company Unicard Ltd has acquired Smart Ticketing specialists Ecebs from Visa, in a market transaction that it says will enable Unicard to offer a more comprehensive range of solutions in the UK and abroad.
The move sees Unicard add contactless EMV (Eurocard, Mastercard and Visa) to its solutions portfolio, comprised of a Smart Ticketing platform, supporting both commercial and concessionary fare schemes, alongside its suite of ITSO, Account Based Ticketing, Mobility-as-a-Service and rail ticketing solutions.
It says the contactless EMV solution, which allows passengers to tap in and out using a payment card, will be substantially accretive to Unicard’s capabilities. It enables the business to directly respond to needs of Local Authorities and transport operators, and puts it at the centre of the rapidly growing smart mobility sector. The comprehensive range of solutions caters directly to the deployment of multi-operator, multi-token, multi-modal services across trains, buses, e-Scooters and other forms of transport.
Unicard’s solutions have been adopted by over 70 Local and Regional Authorities in England and Scotland, including Transport for West Midlands, Transport Scotland, Mersey Travel and Solent Transport, as well as the provision of central back office for Rail Delivery Group. With the acquisition, Unicard can now add Transport for Wales and, significantly, Transport for London to the list.
Unicard aims to work with new customer Nottingham City Council to help support its Future Transport Zone ambitions, where the city council could benefit from Unicard’s experience with the rollout of MaaS for TfWM’s Swift travel scheme, and the MaaS and rail accreditation elements of Solent Transport’s Breeze travel App, in line with the respective FTZ programme aspirations.
Sean Dickinson, CEO of Unicard, explained: “Acquiring Ecebs has strengthened Unicard’s position in the smart travel market, and significantly extends our capabilities and footprint. We’re committed to delivering accessible, inclusive and integrated ticketing solutions for both our new and existing customers, while also helping them deliver new, innovative smart travel schemes.”
(Picture – Unicard)
