Contactless payments will be introduced across Metlink trains and buses in early 2026, allowing adult passengers to tag on and off with debit or credit cards and mobile wallets before Wellington transitions to the National Ticketing Solution in 2027.
The upgrade uses existing Snapper equipment, which will be enhanced to accept Visa and Mastercard payments while maintaining the current tag-on and tag-off process. Snapper cards will continue to operate normally, and cardholders will not need to make changes as the new payment option becomes available.
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Metlink senior manager for strategy and investments Tim Shackleton says the goal is to prepare full-fare-paying customers for a gradual shift to national ticketing.
“The goal is to make it easier to transition full fare-paying, adult customers to a new way to pay, before introducing additional functionality such as integrated bus and rail fares and fare capping, which will come with NTS,” he says.
Greater Wellington has committed $5.3 million to deliver the upgrade, which creates an interim solution before the national system launches across the region. Snapper chief executive Miki Szikszai says Snapper is pleased to support the transition.
“This capability will be supported on existing Snapper equipment with the same tag-on/tag-off experience for PT users,” Szikszai says.
He also acknowledged the alignment between the upgrade and Snapper’s scheduled end of life in 2027, noting the organisation is confident the system will continue to operate reliably through its final contract period.
Szikszai says Snapper will help Metlink shift to the National Ticketing Solution once it is ready, while continuing to develop other services for transport agencies.
The upgrade will give passengers more payment options from early 2026, before broader changes arrive the following year with integrated fares under NTS.
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