Contactless payments to be introduced on Irish public transport within the next three years

The next three years will see a change to fare systems on public transport in Ireland, with a plan to introduce contactless and smartphone payments in that time.

According to The Journal, digital payment options for public transport users could be available in the near future. This will allow passengers to pay with contactless cards, smart phones and QR codes and is thought this could be in place by 2023 or 2024.  At the moment, the National Transport Authority (NTA) is looking to appoint a supplier to develop the system, and a more precise timeline  will be set once a supplier has been confirmed. It was previously floated that cashless payments could replace Leap Cards by the year 2027, but current plans suggest that this option could be available sooner. Leap Cards are expected to remain for a while, but a virtual Leap may be introduced which passengers could store digitally in their smartphone wallet. Only in April were iPhone users given the option to top up directly from their smart phone. Many other countries in Europe have introduced cashless options for public transport payment over the past several years, including Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Header image via Shutterstock  READ NEXT: Boots will be offering antigen testing in select stores across the country from next week