First phase of city-wide multimodal contactless transit payments in Finland’s capital, Helsinki, is underway.

Today, Littlepay announces the launch of contactless transit payments in Helsinki. A tap-to-pay solution is now live on Helsinki Regional Transport (HSL), starting with ferries between the market square and Suomenlinna, an inhabited sea fortress built on islands southeast of the city center.

Passengers can now pay for journeys using a contactless bank card, credit card or digital wallet. The fare collection system being used is an excellent example of Littlepay’s modular approach. Integrations with PPT Excellence validators and Nets for acquiring services deliver a complete solution with Littlepay’s transit payment processing at its core.

HSL’s key objective in modernizing its ticketing and payment system is to provide a simple, seamless passenger experience for commuting and leisure travel. Quick, easy and safe contactless transit payments are expected to be popular with city dwellers and tourists in Helsinki, where tap-to-pay solutions are already widely available in retail and hospitality.

The Nordic region is renowned for using the least cash in the world, and it has consistently demonstrated some of the highest contactless adoption rates globally. In November 2020, contactless payment adoption in Finland, as a proportion of all card payments, was 64%.

HSL plans a rollout of multimodal contactless transit payments across the entire public transport network within the city. Littlepay won a contract to work with HSL on delivery of this project early in 2020 and it is expected to reach completion in 2023.