AFC – AUTOMATIC FARE COLLECTION

AFC systems may be described as the automated process of charging the customers for a given service. The service might be any kind however due to the nature of automated systems, the transaction volume has to be infeasible to carry out the same operation by manual processes. Therefore AFC systems are widely used in public transportation, internet payment and service charge collection systems.

AFC systems in public transportation requires a valid certificate to be used by the public to use while using public transport vehicles. (These are specifically buses, trains, metros, ferries etc.) Electronic or electro-mechanic equipment which will prove the validity of the certificate is called a validator. Each transaction is approved by the validator weather getting on the bus, entering into the metro station or passing through the bridge. (OGS system in Istanbul) A central computer is required to gather all the transaction records and sort them out according to the service providers in the overall system. The central computer and the software must be capable of differentiating between each validator. The validators must work in off-line mode and should be capable of transferring the transactions stored inside their memory to the central computing system periodically. Distinguishing between different operators and calculating their share among the overall transactions and delivering this balance to their bank accounts is the basic function of a Clearing House.

AFC systems in internet needs to be capable of  proven security measures. Since the internet is an open system, intrusion must be detectable and futile. The users use their certificates to store electronic money. A validator is attached to the computer to link the certificate to the internet. The validator is usually a very low cost reader/writer device. Each merchant who sells goods or services on the internet own a web-site. The AFC system transacts with these sites to process a payment usually in connection with a financial institution. The Clearing function guarantees fair distribution of money to member merchants.

AFC systems in service charge collection provide the system owner to collect money from the customers efficiently by reducing transaction cost. AFC systems in this application is alternative in countries with underdeveloped or inefficient banking systems. Also they are used when cash payment is to be promoted.

TOPACS and e-TOPACS are both copyrighted software of KDE inc. They are developed for AFC systems and are open to further development, localization and personalization. TOPACS and e-TOPACS perform all the above described tasks in a perfectly secure environment using contact-less and/or contact smart card technology.