• Lima’s local association of public transit operators, AEMUS, is introducing open-loop payments alongside their existing fare collection system provided by SIMA.
• By leveraging Planeta Informatica’s VSAM technology, contactless EMV payments can be easily added to the existing fare collection infrastructure.
• For this new deployment in the metropolitan area of Lima and Callao, the operators themselves are directly investing in technology to improve public transport in the region. 

Transit payments processing specialist, Littlepay announces today its involvement in the deployment of open-loop payments in Lima, Peru. Riders travelling on the AEMUS network of buses can now pay for rides using a contactless bank card or a digital wallet. 

The public launch of the new functionality was held on the 31st of October in Lima with representatives from, AEMUS, VISA and Littlepay in attendance to celebrate the introduction of the project. 

“We are very proud to be part of the first deployment of an integrated transit infrastructure in Peru. AEMUS is driving progress in the region, paving the way for many more innovations in the future.”

said Didier Muguet, LATAM Regional Manager at Littlepay

System integrator, SIMA partners up with Littlepay to add contactless payments to their infrastructure

AEMUS’s existing fare collection system is operated by SIMA, who will continue to support the existing smart card and cash handling. 

SC Soft provides the validators with the new addition of a Planeta VSAM, a small modular add-on that fits into a spare SAM slot to rapidly enable full EMV processing on the device.  Planeta Informatica, the provider of the  VSAM, and Littlepay have a plug-and-play pre-integrated solution that allows EMV to be “switched on” with almost no development required at the device level. This can be a game changer for operators looking for a quick and easy path to accepting bank cards on their transit services. 

The merchant acquiring services are provided by IZIPAY via Visa’s Cybersource gateway.

Transit operators driving progress 

AEMUS is a syndicate of transit operators running bus services in the Lima and Callao metropolitan areas that promotes sustainable mobility in the city. The four founding companies Urbanito, Etuchisa, Nueva America and La50 formed the organization in an effort to provide an inclusive, safe, reliable network in the region. The organisation has already seen improvements in operational efficiency and reduced costs from their joint efforts. Now, they are investing independently in the deployment of open-loop payments across their network. The founding companies are introducing the new payments option on the first 400 buses with plans to expand it within the next month to the entire network of 1000 vehicles. 

This is the first implementation of an integrated ticketing infrastructure in Peru giving residents, commuters and tourists the opportunity to pay for fares by tapping their contactless card on any AEMUS route. 

“Our aim, by uniting the local transportation ecosystem, was to transform the lack of coordination and lack of efficiency of the current urban transportation into a harmonized system. Beginning with the introduction of the contactless digital payment method, called MOVILIZATE Card. The alliance with multiple transit operators allows us to provide a unified service with integrated fares and promotions.” 

said Luis Edgardo Ramirez Garcia, General Manager at AEMUS

Modularity in action

Planeta Informatica’s VSAM EMV ticketing technology strengthens the security and cryptography performance of existing payment devices. This technology makes it possible to easily add contactless payments on top of an existing legacy transit infrastructure that already supports a closed-loop smart card. The process of adding open-loop payments to an existing fleet is much simplified. 

“Implementing contactless payments improves route and operator value, providing access to competitive bank credit rates, which allows the promotion of more efficient and environmentally friendly mobility options, configuring sustainable mobility on the way to a SMART CITY.”

Luis Edgardo Ramirez Garcia, General Manager at AEMUS

“It’s amazing to see the innovation that happens when a system integrator and modular partners work together. This has been an incredible opportunity for Littlepay to show that our modularity truly means we can support the needs of any transit system.”

said Didier Muguet, LATAM Regional Manager at Littlepay