The Fife arm of French payment solutions firm Ingenico has secured a major tie-up with major technology provider Fujitsu.
Ingenico’s Dalgety Bay manufacturing facility has been chosen to develop a new secure, contactless payment option for Fujitsu as it looks to upgrade its UK rail ticketing system.
Fujitsu’s current generation Star system provides support to nine train operators, including Perth-based Stagecoach, and is installed in more than 600 stations across Britain.
The firm is also involved in the provision of smart ticketing solutions and has delivered in excess of 700 million transport smartcards in the UK to date.
The new partnership will see Ingenico supply Fujitsu with around 1,400 contactless PINPads with access to Axis, its proprietary centralised payment process solution.
The Axis platform goes beyond the scope of current security requirements and regulations surrounding payment protection with built-in anti-fraud measures and devices to ward against the theft of sensitive data and system breakdowns.
“Through its Star ticketing system, Fujitsu has taken the lead in providing the transport industry with a cutting-edge payment solution,” Ingenico northern Europe managing director Jose Luis Arias said.
“The transport industry has been looking for PCI-approved payment solutions for a long time, and we are confident that our collaboration with Fujitsu can show the way,” he said.
Fujitsu executive director Paul Patterson said: “Enabling rail companies to keep up with the latest technology is key to enhancing the customer experience.
“Contactless payment technology will allow these companies to increase the quality and speed of service and ensure customers’ data, while our collaboration with Ingenico will ensure that their data is protected to the highest standard.”
The new partnership comes just days after a team from Ingenico’s Fife plant which employs around 200 staff led a deal with Swedish firm PayEx, which will allow small retailers in Scandinavia to use their smartphones as chip-and-pin readers when taking credit and debit card payments.