MTA riders: Each tap sends money to New York Cares
Chase and Visa are partnering to raise up to $250,000 for New York Cares, New York City’s largest volunteer network, and the companies are tapping transit riders who “tap” to pay for their rides.
Between Aug. 30 and Sept. 30, the companies will donate 10 cents each time a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) rider taps to pay for their fare using a Chase Visa contactless card, up to a maximum donation of $250,000.
New York Cares volunteers have accrued more than 261,000 hours of service and helped distribute 44 million meals since March 2020.
“We are honored that Chase and Visa have chosen to support New York Cares and give back to the community at a time when the city and its residents really need it,” said New York Cares Executive Director Gary Bagley. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, New York Cares volunteers have given back on the ground in a safe and contact-free way. Tapping to ride on the MTA allows for a more seamless and touch-free experience, something that we at New York Cares feel is important in helping people return to riding safely.”
Contactless payments have been used with increased frequency, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic. MTA data from July shows tap-to-pay usage is up more than 225 percent since January and a recent study from Visa, “Future of Urban Mobility,” found 88 percent of riders surveyed globally expect contactless payment options on transit.
“The popularity of contactless payment options has been on the rise for a long time, and as cities and transit operators continue to navigate pandemic-related challenges, riders expect tap to ride to be a regular part of their daily commute,” said Mary Ann Reilly, senior vice president and head of North America Marketing, Visa.
The popularity of tap-to-pay extends beyond the transit space. New York leads U.S. cities in tap-to-pay transactions according to data from Visa. San Francisco and San Jose are additional U.S. cities where in-person payments using tap-to-pay options have reached 25 percent.
“Chase has issued more than 50 million contactless debit and credit cards to customers and tapping to pay has emerged as one of the fastest growing trends in the payments industry. Chase saw a significant increase in customers who use tap to pay and tap transaction volume has grown 126 percent in 2021. Since Chase launched contactless cards, customers have made more than 1.2 billion tap to pay transactions,” said Rory Wilson, vice president of marketing strategy for contactless payments at Chase.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
