After years of waiting, tourists and Île-de-France citizens will finally be able to use public transportation’s Navigo card with Apple Pay on their iPhones and Apple Watches starting 2023.
As reported by the French Apple blog iGeneration, the regional authority in charge of transport and Apple finally managed to reach an agreement after several years of negotiations.
“We cannot give a precise date yet, because it depends on the progress of the developments carried out by Apple in Cupertino. But this time, for sure, it will happen,” said Laurent Probst, the general manager of Île-de-France Mobilités, with Le Parisien.
This contract with Île-de-France Mobilités and Apple is valid for five years. The publication reports a test phase will take place already in 2022 with iPhone and Apple Watch and they will be able to replace the plastic cards distributed by IDFM, such as Navigo’s.
By 2024, all transport tickets can be purchased with Apple Pay and integrated into the Apple Wallet APP. Validation at gates, iGeneration explains, will be done by NFC and will support Apple’s Express Transit card function.
As previously reported by 9to5Mac, since last year it’s possible to charge Paris metro cards with both single journey tickets and daily, weekly, and monthly passes by touching Navigo’s card to your iPhone to authorize payment via Apple Pay.
Although this feature is already handy, when Navigo finally supports Apple Pay and the Apple Wallet, it will be even easier to use public transportation in Paris and the region around it.
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