The NS has blocked digital debit cards from multiple payment services following fraud that allowed people to travel for free. Since July 1, it is no longer possible to travel with virtual debit cards from online bank Revolut and payment services Paysafe and Vivid.
A spokesperson for the NS confirmed this to NU.nl following a report by NOS. The digital cards from Paysafe have also been blocked at all other public transport companies in the Netherlands.
With the virtual debit cards, people could check in and out, after which they could remove the debit card after the journey. As a result, the travel costs could not be debited, while the fraudster had a valid ticket. OVpay, the system for checking in and out with a bank card, is technically designed so that travel costs are only debited after checking out and not immediately.
This is the first time that these payment services have been blocked due to this fraud, while it has long been known that you can travel without a balance with them. Conductors could hardly notice the fraud, because travelers could simply check in and out with these cards.
It is unclear how much damage public transport companies are suffering from this type of fraud. Translink processes the payments with OVpay, but does not want to tell NOS how much money the company could not debit due to this fraud.
Online bank not happy with the block
Revolut tells NOS that it does not agree with the block “instead of tackling the cause of the problem”, referring to the way OVpay works. “Revolut is looking at the (legal) options in the interest of its Dutch customers,” writes a spokesperson.
Translink says it has consciously chosen to debit travel costs afterwards, because that is faster and easier for the traveler. The company does not plan to change anything.
Vivid says it is working on a “technical solution”. Paysafe did not respond to questions from the NOS about fraud.