Can you pay by bank card on the Montreal metro?
Not yet: the ARTM targets 2027 for bank card payment across the whole network. Here is where the Concerto programme replacing OPUS actually stands.
No, you cannot yet tap a bank card at a Montreal metro turnstile: you still need an OPUS card or the Chrono app. The ARTM is targeting a full rollout of bank card payment across the whole network (metro, buses, exo trains and the REM) in 2027, under its Concerto programme.
- Status : official target, not yet live in the metro
- Official target : 2027 for bank card payment available across the whole regional network
- Last updated : 31 August 2026
- Next expected milestone : wider bank card payment testing in 2026, after virtual tickets launch in the Chrono app
Why is this changing?
The OPUS card runs on Calypso, a contactless ticketing standard governed by the Calypso Networks Association (CNA). On the terminal side, Calypso complies with ISO/IEC 14443 and CEN/TS 16794 for the radio frequency layer and ISO/IEC 7816-1 through 4 for the card's file structure, with a tamper-proof secure module (SAM) authenticating each customer card (Calypso Networks Association, terminal specification). It is a closed loop, microprocessor smart card system: fare data (pass type, balance, history) is written directly onto the card itself, unlike London's Oyster card, which is only a memory chip. OPUS launched in April 2008 across the STM network, at a time when fare fraud on the old paper tickets was costing the STM roughly 20 million dollars a year (STM, 10 years of OPUS).
As early as October 2018, the STM said it wanted to move to an account-based model and bank card payment, targeting a rollout "around 2022" (STM press release). That target slipped by several years: it was only in December 2023 that the ARTM issued a call for tenders for the software platform, and only in July 2025 that it awarded a $146 million contract to the UK company Masabi to build the new system, branded Concerto (ARTM, contract announcement; Government of Quebec).
The underlying technical shift is from a card-centric to an account-based ticketing architecture: a rider's fare data lives in a virtual customer account hosted server-side, and the OPUS card, a phone, or a bank card become interchangeable identification tokens at the moment of validation, rather than data carriers. Masabi will deploy its cloud-based Justride platform, already running in more than 200 cities including Denver (ARTM), and update more than 12,000 pieces of equipment (validators, gates, ticket machines) across five partner agencies: STM, exo, RTL, STL and the City of Montreal (ARTM, Concerto page). It is the same move many North American and European networks have already made away from closed fare media and toward open loop EMV bank card acceptance (Visa, Mastercard) directly at validators.
Which lines and modes are covered, and when
Concerto covers the whole ARTM-coordinated regional network: STM's metro and buses, the exo train and bus network (including the Deux-Montagnes line, now folded into the REM, rem.info), the RTL, the STL, and the REM itself. The rollout is staged mode by mode and zone by zone rather than switched on all at once.
| Mode or area | Status as of 31 August 2026 | Next expected step |
|---|---|---|
| REM (South Shore, Île-des-Soeurs, Gare Centrale) | New gates already installed, technically ready for bank cards but the function is not switched on (ARTM) | Bank card function activated alongside the rest of the network, 2026 to 2027 |
| exo buses, Laurentides sector (lines 9, 23, 24, 100 to 107) | Bank card payment pilot running since December 2024 (ARTM) | Pilot results evaluated before extension to other sectors |
| Virtual ticket in the Chrono app (metro, bus, REM) | Testing since December 2025, about 1,000 Android users, expansion to 4,000 planned (Timeout Montreal) | Public launch targeted in 2026, iPhone support to be confirmed |
| STM metro (gates and validators) | OPUS card or Chrono ticket only; no metro gate accepts a bank card yet | Wider tests in 2026, full rollout targeted for 2027 |
- Reloading the OPUS card with a credit or debit card in the Chrono app already works and has since 2024, and now accounts for close to one purchase in two (ARTM).
- No mode-by-mode date has been published beyond the general 2027 target: the ARTM currently communicates annual milestones, not a station-by-station rollout map.
What riders will notice
The fare structure has already changed, separately from how you pay: between July 2021 and the completion of the old-title phase-out in July 2025, the ARTM replaced more than 750 fares spread across 8 zones with a simplified 4-zone grid: A (Montreal agglomeration), B (Laval and the Longueuil agglomeration), C (north and south crowns) and D (municipalities outside ARTM territory with a service agreement) (ARTM, fare reform). That fare reform is already in force; it is a separate project from Concerto, which changes how you pay, not the price.
Once bank card payment is switched on, an occasional rider will in principle be able to walk into a metro station or board a bus without an OPUS card at all, tapping a credit card, debit card, or phone (Apple Pay, Google Pay) directly on the validator, the way exo's pilot already allows at $3.75 a ride with a 120 minute transfer window (ARTM). The REM's new gates, wider, fully opening, and designed with accessibility in mind (adjustable screen height, braille markings, tactile cues), are already installed with that future function built in, even though it is not switched on yet (ARTM).
The OPUS card is not disappearing overnight. Concerto is designed for payment methods to coexist rather than a hard cutover: the physical card stays useful for reduced-fare products (the photo OPUS card, for instance) that require identity verification a simple bank card tap cannot provide. This guide will be updated as the rollout moves forward. DailyMetro Montreal is scheduled to launch on 10 September 2026 with a daily station game on the real network; until then, browse more coverage on the Montreal blog.
Milestone and delay log
- 2000 to 2003 : STM and partner agencies run the studies and tenders behind the original OPUS project.
- April 2008 : the OPUS card launches across the Montreal network (STM).
- October 2018 : marking OPUS's 10th anniversary, the STM says it is targeting an account-based model and bank card payment "around 2022" (STM), a target that has since slipped by at least 5 years against today's plan.
- 2023 : bank-card-ready gates are installed at REM stations (Du Quartier, Brossard, then Panama, Île-des-Soeurs and Gare Centrale) (ARTM).
- December 2023 : the ARTM issues its call for tenders for the new ticketing software platform.
- 2024 : OPUS reload by bank card goes live in the Chrono app (Q1), and the bank card payment pilot launches on exo bus lines in the Laurentides (Q4) (ARTM).
- July 2025 : the ARTM awards the $146 million Concerto contract to Masabi, after the price dropped by roughly $95 million between two rounds of bidding (Noovo Info).
- December 2025 : testing begins on a virtual OPUS ticket in Chrono, about 1,000 Android users, with an expansion to 4,000 announced (Timeout Montreal).
- 2026 (targeted) : public launch of virtual tickets and wider bank card testing across more of the network.
- 2027 (targeted) : full bank card payment rollout across the whole regional network.
Independent risk view
No report from the Vérificateur général du Québec or Montreal's Bureau du vérificateur général specifically covering Concerto has been published as of this writing (31 August 2026), so there is currently no independent, costed assessment of the risk of slippage on this particular project. That gap is worth stating plainly rather than papered over with a guess.
Two factual data points still argue for caution on the 2027 date. First, the project's own track record already shows slippage: the "around 2022" target the STM announced publicly in 2018 did not happen, and it took another 5 years just to award a development contract, in July 2025 (STM 2018; Noovo Info 2025). Second, the ARTM itself frames Concerto against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny of Quebec's public IT projects, publicly stressing monthly governance oversight by its management and board and the appointment of an independent external auditor, a precaution that would have little reason to be highlighted if the perceived risk of slippage were not real.
In short: 2027 is an official target the ARTM stands behind, not a date confirmed by an external oversight body. Treat it accordingly until that changes.
FAQ
Can I already pay by bank card on the Montreal metro?
No, as of 31 August 2026 no metro gate accepts a credit or debit card as direct payment. You need an OPUS card or, in a limited pilot, a virtual ticket in the Chrono app. Full bank card payment is targeted for 2027 under the ARTM's Concerto programme.
Is the Concerto project cancelled?
No. The ARTM awarded a $146 million contract to Masabi in July 2025 to build the new platform, and several intermediate milestones (OPUS reload by bank card, exo's bank card pilot, virtual ticket testing) are already live. The project is moving forward, but several years behind the targets first announced in 2018.
When exactly will bank card payment be available everywhere?
The ARTM is targeting 2027 for bank card payment available across the whole network (metro, buses, exo trains, REM), with wider testing starting in 2026. No station-by-station date has been published as of this writing; watch for future official ARTM announcements.
Will the OPUS card disappear?
Not in the near term. Concerto is built around coexisting payment methods rather than a hard cutover: the OPUS card will stay useful, notably for reduced-fare products such as the photo OPUS card that require identity verification.
What is the zone A, B, C, D fare reform, and is it linked to bank card payment?
The fare reform, in force since 2021 and completed in July 2025, replaced the old 8-zone grid of more than 750 fares with a simplified 4-zone grid (A: Montreal, B: Laval and Longueuil, C: the crowns, D: outside ARTM territory). It is a separate project from Concerto: it changes the price and geography of fares, not the payment method used to buy them.
Does the REM already accept bank cards?
Not yet for paying a fare. The new gates installed at REM stations since 2023 are technically built to accept bank cards once the function is switched on network-wide, but that activation follows the same Concerto timeline as everything else, targeted for 2027.
Why is Montreal taking so long to accept bank cards when other cities already do?
The delay comes mainly from the scale of the technical change: this is not adding a card reader, it is replacing the entire OPUS ticketing architecture, built on the 2008-era, closed-loop Calypso standard, with an account-based system spanning more than 12,000 pieces of equipment across five separate operators (STM, exo, RTL, STL, City of Montreal), which is why the tender only went out in 2023 and a development contract was only signed in 2025.
Sources
- ARTM, official Concerto project page : the transit authority's own programme overview and timeline.
- ARTM, Masabi contract announcement : official press release on the $146 million contract award.
- Government of Quebec, press release : official government republication of the announcement.
- ARTM, exo bank card payment pilot : technical details and timeline of the running pilot.
- ARTM, new REM station gates : deployment schedule and technical specification of the new equipment.
- ARTM, fare reform : official page on the A, B, C, D fare zone reform.
- ARTM, OPUS card page : official description of the current OPUS card.
- STM, 10 years of OPUS press release (2018) : card history and the original bank card target of "around 2022".
- REM.info, Deux-Montagnes line : operating status of the line now folded into the REM.
- Noovo Info, $146 million contract award : reporting on the contract award and the price drop between bidding rounds.
- Timeout Montreal, virtual OPUS ticket : reporting on the December 2025 virtual ticket pilot launch.
- Calypso Networks Association, Calypso for Terminals specification : technical specification of the contactless ticketing standard OPUS is built on, ISO/IEC 14443 and 7816 compliance.