TOTAL SCORE: 82
The Austrian city of Wels has started deploying contactless, with the technology being used in both the transportation and couponing sectors.
Public transport companies SAB Tours and Stadtbus are now using contactless cards for their commuter bus operations. An estimated 70 vehicles have been fitted with terminals capable of reading the cards as well as identifying the bus driver when they start their shift.
In the couponing world, March 2008 saw the launch of a nine-month trial of a mobile POS app that embedded NFC tags in gift vouchers. The scheme, which used Nokia 6131 handsets, was later extended to include merchants in the centre of the city. Backed by mobile operator mobilkom Austria and the City of Wels, the project enables merchants to activate and redeem 10-euro and 100-euro vouchers by tapping them with the NFC-enabled phones.
| Category | Number | Score |
| Point of sale terminals/readers deployed | 201-500 | 6 |
| Different types of contactless device | 2 | 4 |
| Number of contactless devices | 1001-5000 | 40 |
| Number of applications | 2 | 2 |
| Total number of service providers involved | 10 | 10 |
| Number of banks in partnership | 0 | 0 |
| Number of operators in partnership | 1 | 1 |
| Number of merchant locations | 101-150 | 4 |
| Transit operators in scheme | 2 | 2 |
| Parking sector | 0 | 0 |
| Vending | 0 | 0 |
| Entertainment sector – football, leisure, congress etc | 0 | 0 |
| Public sector activities – libraries, schools etc | 0 | 0 |
| Smart poster environments in place | 0 | 0 |
| Marketing campaigns rolled out | 2 | 2 |
| Length of time project implemented | 25 months + | 5 |
| ROI – future potential | 1 | 1 |
| Green credentials | 501-1000 | 5 |
| Social equality | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 82 |
