Transport doesn’t stop for slow payments. At fuel pumps, metro gates and EV chargers, customers expect to tap, pay and move on. When payments fail or lag, it leads to delays, queues and frustrated travellers and a poor experience that operators simply can’t afford.
Demanding environments need reliable infrastructure
Payment acceptance terminals are often installed outdoors, located in busy throughways, exposed to weather, heavy use and potential vandalism. They also need to handle huge volumes of transactions, frequently with little or no staff on site to intervene when something goes wrong.
To meet these demands, operators are increasingly turning to highly scalable, connected mobile and unattended point-of-sale (POS) technologies. These solutions are designed to handle high throughput while reducing infrastructure complexity, lowering operational costs, and delivering the fast, frictionless payment experience customers now expect.
Travellers are embracing contactless payments
Card and digital payments now dominate everyday transactions and transport is no exception. In London alone, more than 300 million journeys have been made using contactless cards issued in over 80 countries. Today, 27% of pay-as-you-go passengers on the Tube and rail network use contactless payments.
Across Europe, travellers want to tap, charge, ride or park with minimal friction. Contactless payments help them move quickly through ticket barriers, fuel pumps and parking systems, and travel cards, mobile wallets and app-based tickets can reduce queues, banish stress and save time.
Reliable, fast payments keep transport systems moving
As these payment habits become the norm, transport operators must ensure their payment infrastructure can withstand demanding environments while continuing to deliver fast, convenient experiences.
- Public transport
Across buses, rail networks and metro systems, NFC-based contactless systems have transformed how passengers travel. Today’s transport payment infrastructure supports: - Tap-and-go payments using contactless bank cards, smartphones or wearable devices directly at gates, validators or onboard readers
- Self-service ticket purchases at unattended kiosks, ticket machines and automated barriers that accept cards and mobile wallets
- Onboard payments made to transport staff or through onboard payment terminals and ticketing machines
- Account-based ticketing (ABT), where passengers simply tap to travel and the system automatically calculates the best fare after the journey
Mobile POS devices, ticket kiosks and automated turnstiles provide a faster, more flexible experience for passengers while helping operators reduce cash handling, optimise staffing and simplify operations.
- Fuel forecourts
As fuel retailers expand non-fuel strategies, they’re introducing new services, retail partnerships and automated technologies transforming the forecourt into multi-service convenience hubs for time-pressed consumers. Alongside pay-at-the-pump solutions, many sites now offer unattended payment points for services such as: - Car washes and jet washes
- Vacuum, air and tyre inflation machines
- Self-service food and beverage kiosks
- Express convenience retail
- Kiosk-based third-party services including laundromats
These services often operate 24/7 with limited staff, making unattended payment acceptance essential. Integrated contactless card readers allow drivers to complete transactions in seconds without entering the store.
- EV charging stations
Electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure is rapidly expanding across Europe, with regulations encouraging more open payment acceptance. More than one million public charging points are already installed and thousands more are being added every month. Drivers increasingly expect to pay using contactless cards and mobile wallets, charging network apps, loyalty platforms, or fleet and corporate accounts.
Among European EV drivers: - 28% pay using contactless at the charger
- 26% pay directly by card at the location
- 23% use an app or website to initiate payment
- Parking
Many modern parking facilities now combine automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) with contactless payment. Instead of taking a ticket or visiting a payment machine, drivers enter the car park where their number plate is recorded, then pay quickly with a contactless card or mobile wallet when exiting. These systems reduce queues, improve traffic flow and remove many traditional parking frustrations.
So what do on-the-go customers expect from the POS?
Across transport services user expectations at the checkout are consistent. They want:
Meeting these expectations requires payment technology designed for self-service environments, mobile use and outdoor conditions. Devices must be durable, secure and capable of supporting multiple payment methods while remaining easy to manage and maintain in the field for operators.
Enabling the future of mobility payments
As a global manufacturer of payment terminals and solutions, Castles Technology helps power the next generation of transport payments with mobile POS devices and unattended payment solutions built for demanding, high-traffic environments.
Our portfolio supports a wide range of transport use cases with:
- Mobile POS terminals for onboard ticketing and field payments
- Unattended payment devices for fuel pumps, EV chargers and parking systems
- Contactless and mobile wallet acceptance
- Durable terminals designed for outdoor and self-service environments
- CasHUB cloud-based terminal management for remote diagnostics, updates and reporting
- Services from encryption key and life-cycle management to tech support, maintenance and repair
- Partnerships with sector-relevant tech innovators to deliver customised and highly integrated solutions
From pump to parking, Castles Technology helps operators deliver the fast, reliable payment experiences modern mobility demands.
