In yet another successful LatAm project, Switchio have teamed up with Mastercard, Visa, and integration specialists SONDA to introduce contactless open-loop ticketing to the EFE public transit network in Valparaiso, Chile.

Commuters and tourists traveling on the city’s Limache-Puerto rail service no longer have to use a prepaid EFE transit card and can instead simply tap their bankcard, physical or virtual, on specially marked turnstiles at each station.

Project details

• Location: Valparaiso, Chile
• Transit operator: EFE Chile (www.efe.cl)
• Transit mode: Limache-Puerto railway service
• Hardware: FEIG Electronic (cEMV readers + app), NexGo (validators)
• Acquirer: BancoEstado

Valparaiso is just the beginning

The number of turnstiles will be gradually increased in the coming weeks, and the system will also be implemented on buses and trolleybuses as well as the city’s 16 historical funiculars. Later phases of the project will see deployment in other major cities, including Concepcion and Santiago, placing Chile firmly at the vanguard of contactless ticketing in public transit.

An exciting first for Chile

This is a particularly exciting project, since there has never been anything like it in Chile before. Talk about charting new territory… Together with Switchio, we’re literally introducing a whole new country to the beauty of open-loop ticketing. So far, the project has been a success, and I’d like to thank Switchio for making it possible.

Hernan Zelaya | Sonda, Project Manager