Bytemark and InComm® Establish Partnership Enabling Cash Payments for Mobile Transit Apps

Bytemark, an innovator in the Mobility as a Service space, has entered a new partnership with InComm, a leading payments technology company, to enable passengers to add value to their accounts for transit and parking by using cash at thousands of brick-and-mortar retail locations across the United States.

The partnership will make transit more accessible to a larger group of passengers. Cash-preferred users can participate by paying for fares at popular retailers where they already shop. The move also allows agencies to strengthen their Title VI inclusivity programs.

The transit cash load option, powered by VanillaDirect™, will provide passengers access to a network of participating retailers with nearly 60,000 locations nationwide. This network, encompassing convenience and value stores as well as pharmacies, includes some of the nation's largest retailers, many of which will offer transit payment options to customers for the first time.

“I am very excited about partnering with InComm®. With their local retail footprint combined with our Bytemark Bridge offering, we are shortening the access points to transit,” said Bytemark Chief Executive Officer Eric Reese. “As we roll out additional functionality of our Plan, Book & Pay™ solution, our ability to support agencies on a more local level affords their riders additional ways to access these cost-saving features, like fare capping, stored value, and multi-day passes.”

The service will be available as part of Bytemark Transact and can be used by Bytemark Passage and Bytemark Connect customers and as a standalone payments feature.

Customers can buy transit passes or load value to their in-app wallets. The stored value wallets can then be used as a payment method for future in-app purchases. Agencies reduce their transaction costs, and riders who want to use cash enjoy a convenient way to do it. Bytemark expects agencies to be able to take advantage of the feature within the next few months.

“InComm’s experience and existing retail network make them the perfect partner, and we couldn’t be more excited to add this payment method for our users,” Reese said.

Cashless systems deliver many benefits, first and foremost by decreasing unnecessary person-to-person contact. Cashless systems have been shown to have shorter dwell times and lower cost of operations, and they provide agencies with additional rider behavior insights, plus the ability to incentivize or reward travel behavior.

Stored value load for future purchases lowers the number of in-person interactions, a concern for many consumers in the wake of COVID-19. This feature may become even more important as more and more agencies consider going cash-free.

Allowing cash loads of stored value wallets or for ticket purchases can achieve the same benefits without removing a familiar payment method option.

“Bytemark has always strived to reduce onboard payments for our users as a matter of convenience and safety,” Reese said

The Bytemark-InComm partnership unites two well-respected brands recognized industrywide for their innovation and openness to collaboration. Bytemark provides fare collection solutions to some of the most forward-thinking transit agencies across North America and Europe. InComm has established partnerships with the nation’s leading transportation agencies since launching tolling and transit products in 2012.

"Bytemark represents an exciting product that offers incremental revenue to retailers by expanding transit ticket distribution," said Michael Herold, Vice President of Business Development, Tolling and Transit at InComm. "The partnership with Bytemark’s transit platform enables retailers to offer ticketing solutions without the need for physical products or additional hardware, which falls in line with our strategy to make it easier for retailers to sell tickets. The real winners are those cash-preferred consumers who want to use the latest technology to pay for transit, parking, and other public transportation services; everyone wins."