Costa Rica launched national electronic payment system for public transportation
Contactless transactions became a popular mode of transaction in public transport owing to the pandemic. Costa Rica is one of the early adopters of contactless payment systems in Latin America. Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) played a key role and launched efforts to migrate to contactless in 2015.
The central bank of Costa Rica launched the technological platform – National System of Electronic Payments (SINPE), connecting the country’s financial entities and public institutions through a private telecommunication network that allows for electronic cash transfers.
BCCR aimed to reduce the number of cash transactions. Thus, the bank conducted a study to understand the prevalence of cash in Costa Rica and its impact on the economy. One of the key findings in the study highlighted that 30% of all cash transactions are for the purpose of paying for public transportation particularly for riding the country’s 400+ bus lines. Therefore, to reduce the use of cash it would be essential to enable electronic payment for public transit fares.
BCCR issued guidelines for the modernization of collection and payment mechanisms in public sector institutions in June 2019. In 2020, BCCR issued the new payment system – The National Electronic Payment System in Public Transport (SINPE-TP), after conducting six months of the pilot with the Costa Rican Institute of Railways (INCOFER) to ensure the proper functioning of the new system. The system will offer a multimodal, secure, efficient, and interoperable electronic payment mechanism to the public transport operators. SINPE-TP is a collaborative solution between the public and private sectors. The project is supported by:
- Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT)
- Public Transportation Council (CTP)
- Costa Rican Railway Institute (Incofer)
- Public Services Regulatory Authority (Aresep)
- Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR)
The electronic payment was launched on the San José-Cartago train route and is now available on all routes – Heredia, Alajuela, and San Antonio de Belén. Train passengers in the Metropolitan Area can pay for their tickets using electronic means of payment, such as debit or credit cards.
BCCR is now working to expand the implementation of electronic payment in buses, in collaboration with operators in the sector. Currently, more than 400 private companies operate buses on 600 different routes throughout Costa Rica, conduct 700 million transactions per year. The new transit payment system will allow passengers to use their contactless debit or credit card to pay for any bus fare, no matter the route or operator. The launch of electronic payment on buses is expected in the first half of 2022.
