For years, the transport card has been the centre of fare collection. A commuter gets a card, adds credit, taps at a validator and repeats the process every day. The model is straightforward, but it also ties the payment instrument closely to the transport network.
Public transport networks in Latin America are still largely shaped by cash payments and closed-loop fare collection, but the market is moving towards digital and open payment models. Across the region, transport authorities are introducing QR payments, mobile ticketing, contactless bank cards and account-based systems while continuing to operate established transport cards and cash channels. Bogotá, Quito, Buenos Aires and Santiago illustrate different stages of this transition, from interoperable fare collection initiatives to the introduction of bank cards alongside existing transport credentials.
Our previous article, Mobility in Latin America: The Digital Shift Toward Inclusive and Seamless Transport, looked at the wider changes taking place across the region, from cash-based and fragmented systems to integrated transport, digital payments and more connected mobility services. This article takes that discussion into the fare collection layer, looking at the technologies that support the shift: open-loop AFC, Account-Based Ticketing, hybrid systems, mobile ticketing and the digital infrastructure connecting transport with financial services.
From the transport card to the transport account
Open-loop technology changes that relationship. The payment credential no longer has to be issued by the transport authority. Bank cards, digital credentials, QR codes and other payment methods can become part of the fare collection environment, with the transport account and fare rules managed in the back office.
With Account-Based Ticketing, the commuter’s balance, tariff profile and transaction information sit in the central system rather than on the physical card itself. The credential becomes a way to identify the account.
This shift is already visible in Quito. In February 2025, 47% of Metro Quito users were using digital access methods including Tarjeta Ciudad, cédula, digital QR and De Una, while access through physical QR tickets paid in cash had fallen by 13% over the previous year. By February 2026, digital methods represented 57.6% of access and the system recorded more than 1.2 million monthly top-ups.
Opening the system without replacing everything
Moving to open-loop does not require an authority to abandon every existing transport credential. Hybrid AFC allows closed-loop transport cards to operate alongside bank cards, QR and mobile payments, with the different credentials managed through the same fare collection environment. O-CITY is designed around this hybrid approach, supporting open-loop fare media such as bank cards and QR alongside closed-loop transport cards.
For operators, the value of this model is not limited to payment choice. Open-loop and hybrid AFC can reduce dependence on proprietary transport media and dedicated top-up infrastructure, while centralising fare rules and transaction processing. New payment methods or transport modes can be introduced through the fare collection platform rather than creating a separate payment environment for each one. O-CITY’s open-loop model is designed to support this centralised approach, including the addition of new modes and payment channels.
From cash payment to a financial ecosystem
For Latin American operators, the value of this architecture is not limited to replacing cash with contactless cards. An account-based model can connect transport to payment channels that already exist outside the network, while allowing the authority to retain physical and cash-based options where they remain necessary. This is relevant in markets where digital adoption is growing but access to financial services is still uneven. Open-loop can therefore become part of a broader financial inclusion model when it is combined with prepaid products, digital wallets, QR, identity-based access and existing cash channels rather than treated as a bank-card-only solution.
Metro Quito and Metro Guayaquil, backed by O-CITY by BPC and Banco Pichincha demonstrates how open-loop payments integrated in transportation ecosystem work in practice. O-CITY AFC is deployed as SaaS, supports instant open-loop prepaid issuance, integrates through APIs with the bank's back office and acquiring rails, and uses O-CITY to process the prepaid cards issued by Banco Pichincha on Metro Quito validators. The wider solution combines the issuer and acquirer role of Banco Pichincha with O-CITY's Transit PSP capabilities; in Guayaquil, O-CITY provides the complete AFC and Transit PSP solution, while in Quito it complements a third-party AFC.
This model also changes what operators receive from modernising fare collection. Instead of maintaining payment as a separate transport function, they gain a central environment for transaction processing, fare management, payment credentials and reporting. Open-loop can reduce dependence on dedicated ticket media and top-up infrastructure, while hybrid acceptance allows existing cards and channels to remain in use during the transition. O-CITY's platform supports bank cards, digital IDs, e-wallets, QR and contactless credentials within the same account-based environment.
The platform behind the transition
The economics of this transition depend heavily on the architecture underneath it. O-CITY is delivered as SaaS through a cloud-based, hardware-agnostic AFC platform. It can connect different validators and terminals while centralising fare management, transaction processing, card management and account services, with open APIs for third-party providers and payment services.
For LATAM operators, hardware agnosticism is particularly relevant where modern payment acceptance needs to be introduced without replacing an entire installed base. Existing validators and payment terminals can remain part of the network while new credentials and services are added through the central platform. The result is a migration path rather than a wholesale replacement project, reducing the need for large upfront infrastructure investment and allowing the fare-collection network to expand as demand and requirements change. O-CITY also positions its platform around low starting investment costs and centralised management.
That flexibility is important in a region where transport networks are often made up of multiple operators, modes and payment environments. A central platform can manage different fare rules and payment providers while giving authorities greater visibility over transactions and operators a common environment for managing their services. The objective is not to standardise every transport service around one physical card, but to standardise the underlying payment and account architecture.
Diagram 1: how hybrid and open-loop fare collection connects existing transport infrastructure with multiple payment credentials through a central AFC platform, enabling integrated transport and mobility services.
Quito and the wider mobility network
Quito shows how this model can extend beyond a single transport service. From April 2026, the city's integrated collection system brought Metro Quito, Trolebus and Ecovia into the same Cuenta Ciudad environment. The Quito Nos Mueve application allows users to manage their account balance, generate QR codes and plan journeys across the municipal transport network.
The same direction is visible elsewhere in the region, although through different stages and models. In Colombia, Bogotá's 2025 District Decree 338 established the framework for an interoperable collection system connecting TransMilenio, the future Metro Line 1 and other transport modes. In Argentina, the opening of SUBE introduced contactless Visa and Mastercard cards, NFC-enabled phones and watches alongside the existing payment card. In Santiago, the 2025 transport management report recorded pilots for bank-card payments alongside the established QR ecosystem. The region therefore remains a mix of cash-based and closed-loop systems, but the direction of travel is towards open-loop payments and more interoperable fare collection.
These developments point to a broader change in how fare collection is designed in Latin America. Open-loop does not have to mean removing the transport card, eliminating cash immediately or replacing an entire AFC system. The more significant change is moving the centre of the system from a dedicated payment credential to an account and platform that can support multiple credentials, operators and modes. For transport authorities and operators, that creates a way to introduce open-loop payments, ABT, mobile ticketing and eventually additional mobility services without turning every new payment method or transport mode into another standalone system.
Epilogue
For Latin American transport operators, the move to open-loop is less about replacing the transport card than changing what sits behind it. An account-based, hybrid fare collection model allows cities to keep existing infrastructure and payment options while adding bank cards, mobile wallets, QR and new mobility services through the same platform.
As transport networks across the region become more integrated, this flexibility is becoming increasingly important. Open-loop gives operators a way to modernise fare collection incrementally, connect transport with the wider financial ecosystem and build a payment infrastructure that can evolve with the network.