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How AI and biometrics are shaping next-generation mobility payments
Opinions04 Nov 2025by Fuad Alsagoff: Senior Manager, Mobility Payment Systems, Urban Solutions, ST Engineering
Sponsored by ST EngineeringFuad Alsagoff, Senior Manager, Mobility Payment Systems, Urban Solutions at ST Engineering, explains how mobility payments are evolving with a new wave of technology – and how openness and inclusive services are driving adoption.
Biometric payment methods are reshaping how commuters engage with transport systems
Cities around the world are under pressure to transform how people move. As urban populations swell and sustainability targets grow more urgent, public transport operators are tasked with delivering reliable, inclusive, and efficient services while adapting to changing passenger expectations.
At the heart of this transformation lies a critical challenge: modernising mobility payments to support seamless, multimodal journeys. Whether by tackling friction at the fare gate, improving equity of access, or simplifying multimodal journeys, ease of payment improves public transit access and adoption – making public transport and shared mobility a genuine alternative to car use and ownership.
The shift from physical tickets to digital wallets has already changed how many people pay for transit, but the vision for mobile-centric, frictionless payments goes further
Against this backdrop, ST Engineering’s Urban Solutions business is helping to lead the shift toward smarter, more responsive and secure payment systems. Through its AGIL® Pay suite of solutions, the company is integrating AI, biometrics, and mobile payment technologies to enhance the passenger experience and futureproof transport networks.
This work supports cities’ and transport operators’ transition to mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) models, creating seamless, account-based systems that unify different modes of travel under a single digital framework. Through AGIL Pay, travellers can plan, pay, and manage their journeys across public and private transport options via mobile devices, biometrics, or open-loop payments. By simplifying multimodal travel and making payments frictionless, ST Engineering Urban Solutions is helping cities move towards MaaS ecosystems that encourage public transport adoption and reduce reliance on private car use.
Making mobility payments simple – and frictionless
The shift from physical tickets to digital wallets has already changed how many people pay for transit, but the vision for mobile-centric, frictionless payments goes further. It’s about enabling commuters to easily plan, pay, and manage their travel experience across public and private transport entirely through smartphones and biometrics – without the constraints of traditional fare media.
ST Engineering Urban Solutions is actively supporting this transition by building a comprehensive and unified account-based ticketing back-office solution. A key goal is to ensure commuters have access to all the travel data they need – before, during, and after their journey – through a central application. This includes not only real-time journey planning but also background data like travel history and expenditure. ST Engineering Urban Solutions’ approach is to make this web-based and central to its back-office system.
Ticketing, in this model, becomes something commuters manage entirely through their mobile devices. AGIL Pay offers full support for open-loop payment systems using credit and debit cards, NFC-enabled mobile wallets (such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay), and QR-based platforms. These systems remove the need for advance top-ups or ticket purchases, creating a convenient experience that’s particularly valuable for tourists and occasional riders.
ST Engineering Urban Solutions also provides solutions like the Interactive Traveller Terminal (ITT) – an all-in-one kiosk that integrates passenger services, ticketing, and account management. By combining biometric authentication for secure setup with remote customer support via video, the ITT further enhances the mobile and contactless payment ecosystem.
Supporting the shift to open-loop payment systems
Open-loop payment systems offer unmatched convenience – but transitioning from legacy fare infrastructure can be complex. Unlike deploying an all-new system, phased upgrades must account for live operations, commuter habits, and integration with existing hardware and software. ST Engineering Urban Solutions’ AGIL Pay enables cities to migrate at their own pace, offering modular, cloud-based solutions that minimise disruption and cost. The company also supports commuter awareness campaigns and collaborates with key stakeholders – including transit operators, payment providers, and government agencies – to ensure smooth adoption and lasting success.
Biometrics as the new key to frictionless mobility
Biometric payment methods are reshaping how commuters engage with transport systems. ST Engineering Urban Solutions has been trialling facial recognition and palm scanning technology on fare gates and ticketing machines, with a focus on usability, speed, and reliability.
Palm-based biometric mobility payments offer a secure, seamless, and commuter-friendly alternative to traditional fare media. Palm recognition provides high accuracy and fast processing speeds. Commuters simply pass their hand over a reader at fare gates or ticketing terminals, allowing for quick identification without the need for a physical card or device. This not only improves passenger throughput, but also enhances convenience for commuters with limited mobility.
By linking palm biometrics to a pre-registered travel account, operators can offer a consistent, reliable, and inclusive payment experience that meets the evolving expectations of today’s commuters. The technology also represents a ‘softer’, less intrusive, and more socially acceptable way of embedding biometrics into mobility payments compared to other technologies like facial recognition.
AGIL Pay supports this biometric vision with seamless back-end integration. When commuters pass through a fare collection point, their profiles are automatically detected and validated through facial or palm recognition. The fare is recorded in a pre-registered personal travel account and billed in a pre-determined cycle. This removes the need for physical cards or tickets, again helping to improve throughput, reduce contact, and streamline the overall experience.
Integrating biometric verification with account-based ticketing adds a powerful layer of protection
Biometric authentication also adds a powerful layer of protection by tying access directly to a commuter’s unique physical characteristics, making it significantly harder for unauthorised individuals to exploit the system. By integrating biometric verification with account-based ticketing, ST Engineering Urban Solutions ensures that mobility networks are not only more efficient and user-friendly but also more secure, reinforcing commuter trust and safeguarding operator revenue.
The company has already incorporated these capabilities into its AGIL Pay systems and is ready for deployment. The focus now is on working with transport operators to implement them in ways that build trust with users and deliver a tangible improvement in convenience and accessibility.
AI: from concierge to command centre
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important driver of ST Engineering Urban Solutions’ mobility strategy, both in terms of front-end commuter experience and back-office optimisation.
At the commuter level, the company is piloting AI-powered ticketing machines that serve as intelligent agents – travel concierges capable of providing real-time assistance. Designed to be multilingual, these systems will make it easier for commuters from different backgrounds to access information. Acting as digital service attendants, they can help with journey planning, offer point-of-interest recommendations, and even provide weather updates.
These agentic AI systems are part of a broader strategy to enhance inclusivity and usability. ST Engineering Urban Solutions’ focus is to continue rolling out purpose-built models that simplify the travel experience and make it more seamless for commuters.
AI can cut through that complexity, presenting commuters with clear, easy-to-understand options and even recommending the best fare based on their journey
In the back office, AI can transform how operators manage and respond to travel demand. Traditionally, fare reconciliation and ridership analysis has relied on static business intelligence tools. With AI, operators can now process origin-to-destination data more dynamically – identifying travel patterns, peak loads, and service gaps in real time. This visibility allows for better dispatch decisions and more responsive service design.
AI is also transforming fraud detection in mobility payments. By intelligently analysing travel behaviours, it can quickly identify suspicious activities, such as repeated attempts with stolen cards or unauthorised pass sharing, before they impact operations. This not only safeguards revenue but also strengthens trust by ensuring every genuine commuter enjoys a seamless and secure journey.
AI can also play a part in navigating fare complexity. Some cities operate highly intricate fare structures, with London being a prime example. AI can cut through that complexity, presenting commuters with clear, easy-to-understand options and even recommending the best fare based on their journey.
Building inclusive and trusted systems
Inclusivity is a central theme throughout ST Engineering Urban Solutions’ work on mobility payments. Beyond biometrics and AI, the company is investing in user ergonomics, accessible design, and multilingual interfaces to ensure no one is left behind.
Its ticketing machines, for instance, are designed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and include features like adjustable font sizes and high-clarity audio for visually impaired users. Interfaces are also developed with cognitive ergonomics in mind, making them easy to navigate regardless of digital literacy levels.
For ST Engineering Urban Solutions, inclusivity also includes linguistic diversity – supporting multiple languages to serve multicultural cities and visiting tourists. It’s not only about accessibility for persons with disabilities, but also about ensuring that everyone can use the system with ease.
Trust is another cornerstone of adoption – particularly when it comes to newer technologies like biometrics and AI. By ensuring high performance and availability of its systems, ST Engineering Urban Solutions reinforces public confidence. Over time, consistent reliability builds trust in the system, in the technology, and in public transit, ultimately encouraging adoption.
The future of fare collection goes beyond faster payments – it’s about building systems that are inclusive, responsive, and trusted by design
Urban mobility payments have evolved steadily in the last decade and are now entering a new phase – from tap-and-go to touch-free, from static kiosks to intelligent agents, and from fare cards to frictionless, account-based systems. ST Engineering Urban Solutions’ AGIL Pay platform demonstrates how a thoughtfully designed suite of technologies – including AI, biometrics, and mobile integration – can bring these capabilities to life.
In doing so, ST Engineering Urban Solutions is helping cities respond to the dual pressures of growth and digital transformation. The future of fare collection goes beyond faster payments – it’s about building systems that are inclusive, responsive, and trusted by design.
ST Engineering is a global technology, defence and engineering group with a diverse portfolio of businesses across the aerospace, smart city, defence and public security domains. Harnessing technology and deep engineering expertise, its Smart Mobility business is advancing urban mobility, enabling cities to modernise their rail and land transport infrastructure for seamless, safe and reliable commuter journeys. To date, it has delivered more than 400 Smart Mobility projects in 90 cities across Asia, the Middle East and the United States.
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