{"id":261454,"date":"2026-01-31T20:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/261454\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T20:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:06:24","slug":"melbourne-enters-final-testing-phase-for-long-awaited-contactless-payment-upgrade-on-myki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/261454\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne Enters Final Testing Phase For Long-Awaited Contactless Payment Upgrade On Myki"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/myki-reader-upgrade-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"the new myki reader, which will eventually accept contactless payment\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tImage: Nicole de Souza<\/p>\n<p>    Save<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a <a href=\"https:\/\/secretmelbourne.com\/myki\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretmelbourne.com\/myki\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_0\" data-category=\"click_internal\">long time coming<\/a>, and the myki network is entering the next stage of testing for contactless payment, bringing us one step closer to tapping on with our credit card, smartphone or watch. Almost 3,000 new ticket readers were installed at over 280 train stations, and a small number of closed-group trials will begin next month. Public trials will begin in the coming months, with ticketless travel launching this year. But, for now, there\u2019s no immediate changes to the public, so you should continue to use your myki as normal.<\/p>\n<p> <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32264\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"trains at Flinders Street Station, which children will be able to use for free from 2026\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/free-public-transport-children-1024x683.jpg\"\/>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@ouch_media?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">John Simmons<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/yellow-and-blue-train-on-rail-tracks-during-daytime-rHw_fB7u-VQ?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Unsplash<\/a> Myki network upgrade to contactless payment <\/p>\n<p>The upgrades were a part of the contract signed by Conduent, who took over the ticketing system in 2023. The new features will be tested, refined and slowly rolled out to the public from early 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Transport Victoria ran a six-month trial of tap and go payments on buses in Wangaratta. The next phase will involve a closed-group technical testing in a lab over three days, where staff members will test the system with a wide range of bank cards and smart devices.<\/p>\n<p>After that, further tests will be made at a small number of train stations, to see how the system performs under real-world conditions. The trial will test important functions like refunds, customer support and contact centre processes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a critical next step in rolling out tap and go payments, allowing us to test the technology in real-world conditions and make sure the system works smoothly before it\u2019s switched on for passengers,\u201d said Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-38424\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Metro-public-transport-christmas-day-1024x683.jpg\"\/>Source: Supplied <\/p>\n<p>In the coming months, public trials will take place, and passengers will be able to take part and provide feedback about their experience at selected stations. More information about how passengers can take part in this process will be revealed at a later date.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the coming months, passengers will be able to touch on using a credit or debit card, a smartphone or a smartwatch \u2013 starting on trains, then rolling out across the rest of the network,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n<p>New readers are also being installed around buses and trams, and it\u2019s set to be complete early this year.<\/p>\n<p>Mobile myki will continue to be available to Android users. Meanwhile, Apple users will be able to pay with their phones using their digital wallets when the system rolls out in early 2026.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the upgrade, <a href=\"https:\/\/transport.vic.gov.au\/news-and-resources\/projects\/myki-upgrade\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/transport.vic.gov.au\/news-and-resources\/projects\/myki-upgrade\" data-action=\"text_cta_1\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: Nicole de Souza Save It\u2019s been a long time coming, and the myki network is entering the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":["post-261454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-mobile","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}