Merge bank card and transport ticket?
This is the goal of the manager.one neobank.
The start-up announced in a press release that it had received a grant of 210,000 euros from the region and BPI France to start a full-scale experiment "
in the coming months
".
This online banking for professionals started off with a simple question: why weigh down your wallet with two cards, one for payments and one for transport, when one might be enough?
It then looked into the possibility of integrating the Calypso chip, which is used on Navigo cards in Île-de-France, with a traditional bank card.
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Manager.one explains that “it
would be too expensive to transform the thousands of validators in Île-de-France to allow them to read traditional bank cards
”.
Contacted by
Le Figaro
, the start-up estimates that such arrangements “
would cost 500 million euros and take years
”.
If this is possible in medium-sized cities like Dijon, the operation is indeed more complicated in the Paris region.
Directly integrating the Navigo card chip, readable by the validation terminals already in place, into bank cards would therefore represent considerable savings.
Île-de-France Mobility spares its enthusiasm
For the moment, the experiment will only concern “around
a hundred employees of companies in Île-de-France
” for a maximum period of one year. The innovation audience is professional only. The bank cards offered by manager.one, which will be equipped with technology, are indeed intended for companies and allow employees, for example, to manage their expense reports more easily. However, the neobank does not hide its ambition to democratize the use of this innovation throughout the network within a few years, if Île-de-France Mobilité gives it the means to do so.
However, the Paris region transport organizing authority is moving forward with caution and is not betting everything on this innovation, far from it. “
On our scale, it's a small experiment. It is only a question of testing a potential
”explains the institution to
Le Figaro
, qualifying the enthusiasm of the press release published by manager.one. “
When we make a decision for the Navigo card, we reach 5 million people, so we have to take the time to think
” says Île-de-France Mobilités, before adding: “
it is not sure that the card bank is the best medium for a transport ticket because it tends to be dematerialized on our smartphones
”.
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The transport organizing authority is therefore also investing in the dematerialization of the Navigo card.
It is already possible to download and validate tickets on your Samsung phone.
However, the device is not yet compatible with Iphone.
Ile-de-France residents can also use the Navigo Easy pass, which allows them to combine metro, RER, day and week passes on a single pass.
As for the bank card / Navigo card association, they will have to wait a few more years.
It remains to be seen whether other banks could also be interested in the project.