Check-in with your bank card to travel by train
Starting Tuesday January 31st travellers can check in from anywhere in Netherlands with their bank card (debit- and creditcard) or phone to use the Dutch Railways (NS). This is going to be implemented to make travelling easier for those that don’t travel by train often, and can be compared to the contactless checkouts at certain supermarkets.
It is important to note that if you wish to travel first class or with any type of discount, you will still have to buy a ticket from the vending machine or you could simply use the OV-chip card. Moreover, the OV-fiets (bike) will still require the OV-chip card as well. Apart from that, the NS advises travellers to take out their card from their wallet when paying, as not doing so could mean you pay multiple times for the same journey (this could happen if you have different bank cards in your wallet).
Plans are in the making to implement the same concept for busses, trams, and metro’s later this year.