Dutch railway company NS is starting a trial to allow travellers to use their bank card, smart watch or phone to make direct payments to use the trains, the organisation said.

This will make checking in and out as quick and easy as a contactless payment at a supermarket,’ commercial director Ivo Steffens said.

NS had said earlier that new forms of payment, such as contactless payment would complement the current system of the OV chipkaart travel card, which usually has to be ‘loaded’ with cash to work.

The trial is part of a national plan to introduce new forms of payment on public transport and is a follow up of a smaller scale pilot carried out by the NS in 2019.

The NS is currently inviting people to participate in the the trial in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Den Bosch, Utrecht and Delft stations.

If the trial scores well on user friendliness and technical feasibility, contactless payment will be made possible at all stations. The trial will run for two months.