Ticketing Platform connects transport infra to apps and mobile payment systems

Plusdial provides a proven, customizable mobile ticketing platform for public transport authorities and companies. Our platform offers the flexibility to function as a standalone SMS-based ticketing system or seamlessly integrate with multiple mobile applications and payment services, making digital ticket sales easy and efficient. With Plusdial, transport operators can manage diverse ticketing channels and telecommunication operator payment methods on one user-friendly, ready-made platform.

The Platform integrates

• various players (MaaS and other application providers), and
• mobile telecommunications operators’ messaging and billing systems (Premium SMS / Charge to Bill)

in one centralized system, which issues the tickets under Public Transport Authority’s or Company’s (PTA’s or PTC’s) control, and further,

• integrates to Public Transport Authority’s or Company’s back-office reporting, validation and help desk systems, and/or
• provides User Interfaces and tools for PTA/PTC for handling end-customer services, reporting and validation functions when direct integration is not applicable.

It is our aim to be a neutral and independent party between public transport organizations and other parties – i.e. not to become a MaaS provider, payment service or mobile application vendor ourselves. Instead:

• The quick and versatile application providers may use their creativity to entice customers to public transport – with no app development costs for PTA! ..
• ..while PTA gets centralized and trustworthy sales data for clearing and reports of ticket usage (in accordance with the requirements of the ISAE 3402 assurance standard)

PTA thus has one central point to connect ticket inspection and validation functions too, and they are provided with one End User help desk and service management tool for handling customer feedback and controlling ticket selection instead of having to adapt or integrate separately to 3rd parties’ systems. They can even utilize also SMS ticketing, fully provided by the platform.

As an example of a typical set-up, public transport authority may use the platform to interconnect several parties’ services to create a complete digital ticketing system:

• The PTA may either develop a ticketing application of its own or offer platform’s Open API to 3rd parties (Application Providers, on the right-hand side in the picture) with existing applications, willing to add transport tickets to their current service offering.
• Application Providers may either
  • Offer their customers payment methods like monthly subscriptions or dedicated mobile wallets, or
  • Handle payments via general payment services (typically, credit/debit cards, or any other mobile payment service with a payment API to service providers), or
  • Transmit just ticket orders and deliveries, and have Plusdial to mediate end customer charging to Telecom operators’ billing systems (either via so called “Direct Operator Billing” or “Charge to Bill”, requiring use of operator’s data network, or via Premium SMS billing)
• Plusdial connects to required PTA back-office systems (on the left in the picture) for
  • Sales reporting
  • Reporting all events in detail for analysis or other purposes
  • Fetching ticket specific data – like validation data – to be included in produced tickets, if applicable.
  • Plusdial Platform can also generate QR codes itself according to PTA specifications, and add links for fetching them to customer’s phone in SMS tickets; thus QR codes can be used without separate applications, just via phone’s own browser.
  • Alternatively, SMS tickets can be equipped with machine readable, textual codes, for which reader software for handheld devices – at its simplest, smart phones – can also be provided
  • Or PTA’s inspectors may rely on human readable, visual control code embedded in SMS tickets
  • Inserting ticket data to existing ticket validation or inspection back-office systems, like metro gates, or existing validation back-office systems
    • Note that even Account Based Ticketing systems, possibly also supporting EMV payments, can be complemented with a SMS based solution where also non-credit card holders may pay their tickets with more cash-like mobile operator billing!
  • Plusdial provides also its own tools for inspection
  • Platform also provides uniform user interface (regardless of number of Application providers) to help desk and service management

Initially, Plusdial’s platform has been developed for public transport companies and authorities. However, in many markets the same organizations manage also city parking and functions like congestion charging; thus, the platform also includes customer driven add-on functionality for implementing parking and congestion payments.

Plusdial platform tested to conform with ISAE 3402

As ticket sales and the corresponding financial transaction processes are increasingly often outsourced, it is vital to assure that transactions and reporting by the service providers are correct and properly controlled against misuse. Such guarantees, provided by an independent third party, are also often required by PTAs’ auditors.

The International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE 3402) is the international testing standard that assesses the effectiveness of internal control systems of service providing organizations on yearly basis. ISAE 3402 aims to extensively test an organizations internal control system and to rate its effectiveness in detail. The ISAE 3402 Type 2 test report contains the opinion of an external test company on the control procedure at the service provider, a description of the control points, the test methods and controls, information about the test period and a statement about the effectiveness of the controls.

Plusdial’s Ticketing Platform and specifically, one of the services implemented utilizing it, has been successfully tested and found to conform with the standard. Re-evaluations will be done regularly to guarantee compliance also in the future.

Please see the auditor’s announcement of this via this link (a signed PDF document by the auditor from PricewaterhouseCoopers).