The end of the OV chip card is near, because the frequently used card is going to disappear. These changes are coming!
OV chip card will disappear
Do you regularly travel by public transport? This will soon happen in a different way, because the traditional public transport chip card will disappear. The OV chip card was introduced in 2007 and made it much easier to travel on Dutch public transport. Checking in and out is easy with the OV chip card, but that will change in 2027. The OV chip card will be replaced by the OV pass after twenty years.
The new public transport pass is accompanied by the switch to OVpay in the Netherlands. This is the new way of checking in and out on public transport. The big advantage of OVpay is that you can arrange everything in your OVpay account. You do this digitally via the website or the OVpay app, so that you no longer have to visit a machine at a station. From now on, your balance will be loaded digitally and you decide how much money you put on your public transport pass. You no longer have to choose from fixed amounts, as is the case with the OV chip card.
Digital public transport pass
The OV chip card will therefore disappear and OVpay will come to your smartphone. This has several advantages, because you will no longer need a physical public transport pass to check in and out. You can already pay with your bank card, but a digital public transport pass will be added at the end of 2026. This is especially useful if you have a season ticket or travel with a discount. These subscriptions cannot be linked to a payment card, but this is possible with the digital public transport pass. You can add this online card to the wallet on your smartphone and smartwatch, so that you can also use your subscription and discount without a physical card. It is still unclear whether the digital public transport pass will support the Apple Wallet.
Good news if you sometimes forget your OV chip card, because the digital OV pass will come to your smartphone at the end of 2026. The physical public transport pass will be available in 2026, travelers will automatically receive a message about this. If you have a season ticket, you do not have to order a separate pass yourself, because your current NS season ticket will not be listed there. The new card will be sent automatically as soon as you have received a message about the public transport pass.
More about the public transport pass
With the transition to OVpay, you will soon have both a physical and digital OV pass. So you don’t have to choose between one of the two and you decide how you add balance to the successor to the OV chip card. Traveling with your debit card and credit card remains possible. The public transport pass can already be used in the first areas, but only for trips without a discount or subscription. These features will be added to the new map later this year.
The new public transport pass is valid for five years and costs six euros. That is cheaper than the OV chip card, which costs 7.50 euros. With the successor to the OV chip card you can arrange more via your smartphone and travel with the digital OV pass in your wallet. You will have to be patient for this, because the digital public transport pass will be available at the end of 2026. The OV chip card will only disappear permanently in 2027. Would you like to stay informed about this? Then sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter so that you don’t miss anything about the transition to OVpay!
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