ITSO have certified Unicard’s HOPS-AMS as being fully compliant with version 2.1.5 (Phase 2) of the ITSO Specification.

This means that Unicard are the first company to have a product achieve full compliance with the new ITSO technical standard for interoperable smart ticketing on public transport.

Unicard became the first company to achieve partial compliance with ITSO 2.1.5 (Phase 2) for our PSEngine PersoPOST software in April this year.

ITSO Specification version 2.1.5 introduces features such as media tailored for in-wallet digital ticketing. This reflects ITSO’s response to industry trends and government initiatives aimed at digitising transport ticketing and offering passengers the choice between digital or physical ticket options.

Unicard’s HOPS is a key element of the back office system used by transport authorities and other organisations to handle ITSO messages, shell and product accounting, and asset management for transport schemes.

Unicard’s ITSO SME Michael Cuthbertson said: “This shows our commitment to keeping up to date with the latest version of the ITSO Specification – the HOPS is at the heart of every ITSO scheme and is essential to interpret new message versions and functionality introduced in 2.1.5 as this version is rolled out across ITSO schemes.”

Unicard are now updating our other ITSO products so they are ready for ITSO certification for phase 2 of version 2.1.5. We can then make them available to our customers, with Phase 3 following when ITSO are ready in 2026.

ITSO version 2.1.5 arrived 15 years after the release of the previous version 2.1.4. In June 2024, ITSO issued a draft version of 2.1.5 for review by its members – who include Unicard – and refined the Specification based on members’ feedback.