Firm Launches Card Payment for Lagos Rail

A fintech company, Touch and Pay Technologies, has announced that rail passengers across Lagos can access the newly launched Blue Rail Line using its contactless Cowry card.

According to the firm, its partnership with the Lagos State government would enable individuals to use the Cowry card across the 13 kilometres of track proposed for the project.

It stated that the first phase of the track from Marina to Mile-2 would support 200,000 daily passengers, who can now enter and exit stations through TAP’s state-of-the-art turnstiles.

In a statement, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Touch and Pay Technologies, Olamide Afolabi, said, “We are thrilled to be facilitating and digitising payment on behalf of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority. We have deployed our NFC payment solutions on BRT buses, ferries, and now trains.

“Our contactless payment solutions have been a huge success. We have created a 21st-century solution for today’s passengers. Up until now, train fares typically worked on low-value cash transactions, whereas most electronic cards don’t allow for payment below $10, which was problematic for many passengers.

“Our Cowry card, which enables microtransactions between 10 cents and $10, bridges this gap. People can now use a digital and modern method to pay for their train journeys without carrying huge amounts of cash. We are optimistic that even more passengers will discover the benefits of this fast, yet reliable technology, which unifies transportation in Lagos – for the first time.”

The Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Touch and Pay Technologies, Michael Oluwole, added, “Payment is a social issue, not a technological one, which is why solutions to solve transit payment issues are a priority for us.

“In the past, foreign companies were tasked with solving our local transportation problems. We are pleased that we are the first local company to deliver this unifying solution.”

NP/Dominica Nwabufo