PiTaPa

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is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used in the Kansai region of Japan. The name PiTaPa is an acronym of "Postpay IC for Touch and Pay". It can be used on JR West trains, the Osaka Municipal Subway and New Tram, the Keihan Electric Railway, the Hankyu Railway, and buses in the region. It is also accepted by the JR East system, thanks to a reciprocity agreement.

Unlike most other electronic fare collection systems, including JR East's Suica, which operate on a "pre-pay" basis, PiTaPa is a "post-pay" card. Usage of the card is charged to the customer's account, and each month the balance owing is deducted from a designated bank account. As such, a credit check is required to obtain a PiTaPa card, and the allowable balance is capped. Since June 2006, people over 20 can obtain a card secured by a deposit in lieu of the credit check, although these cards can only be used to pay transport fares, without the electronic money functions of a normal card.

Like Suica and ICOCA, the underlying technology behind PiTaPa is Sony's FeliCa smart card system.

External links

[PiTaPa.com] (in Japanese)
[Transportation in Osaka], including information on the PiTaPa card (in English)

Electronic fare collection systems
Americas: CharlieCard (Boston) - Chicago card (Chicago) - GTA Farecard (Toronto) - MetroCard (New York City) - Multivia (Santiago de Chile) - SmarTrip (Washington, D.C.) - Translink (San Francisco Bay Area)
Europe: EasyRider (Nottingham) - Oyster card (London) - Readycard (Greater Manchester) - Andante (Porto)
Asia: EasyCard (Taipei) - EZ-Link (Singapore) - ICOCA (JR West) - Octopus (Hong Kong) - PiTaPa (Kansai Region) - Shanghai Public Transportation Card (Shanghai) - Suica (JR East) - Touch 'n Go (Malaysia) - Yikatong (Beijing)
Oceania: SmartRider (Perth)

Electronic fare collection systems
Americas: CharlieCard (Boston) - Chicago card (Chicago) - GTA Farecard (Toronto) - MetroCard (New York City) - Multivia (Santiago de Chile) - SmarTrip (Washington, D.C.) - Translink (San Francisco Bay Area) Europe: EasyRider (Nottingham) - Oyster card (London) - Readycard (Greater Manchester) - Andante (Porto) Asia: EasyCard (Taipei) - EZ-Link (Singapore) - ICOCA (JR West) - Octopus (Hong Kong) - PiTaPa (Kansai Region) - Shanghai Public Transportation Card (Shanghai) - Suica (JR East) - Touch 'n Go (Malaysia) - Yikatong (Beijing) Oceania: SmartRider (Perth)

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