Starting October 29, 2024, Osaka Metro, Kintetsu Railway, Hankyu Railway, and Hanshin Electric Railway began supporting tap-to-pay for boarding. This allows passengers to smoothly pass through ticket gates by tapping compatible cards or smartphones on designated readers. The tap-to-pay system, called "stera transit," is provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Card and supports Visa, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Discover, and UnionPay brands, with Mastercard integration planned in the future.
Applicable Stations: The system is available at 548 stations across the four companies, with exceptions at Kintetsu’s Kashiwara Station, all stations on the Ikoma Cable Line, and Hanshin’s Nishidai Station.
Expansion in the Kansai Area: With this rollout, a total of 12 railway operators in the Kansai region now offer tap-to-pay boarding, alongside eight other companies that had already implemented the service. By spring 2025, even more routes and stations in the region are expected to adopt tap-to-pay.
