Montreal OPUS cards are now officially reloaded on all smartphones — here's how it works

The moment we have been waiting for has arrived! All Montrealers can now top up their OPUS cards with their phones.

While the feature has been available to around 15,000 citizens for testing purposes in recent weeks, it is now officially available to anyone with a smartphone, whether they have an iPhone or Android phone.

“The functionality gives OPUS cardholders more flexibility, in particular by avoiding queues at sales and service points and allowing them to purchase tickets independently during their journey,” said the Autorité régionale de transport metropolitain (ARTM) in a press release. The announcement was made Wednesday morning.

How to top up OPUS card by phone?

If you haven't already, start by downloading the Chrono app. Chrono is available on the Apple App Store as well as the Google Play Store.

Tip: You may need to update or uninstall and re-download the app for the new feature to become available.

Once you're signed in to the Chrono app, link your OPUS card to your account by tapping the little card icon with a dollar sign on it. You will find it in the upper right corner. Or if you're looking at the full main menu, click on the “Read OPUS and Reload” button.

Tap the “Start Reading” button, then hold the OPUS card towards the phone's camera with the chip facing the phone. Once the app detects your card, you should feel a vibration. Your camera will automatically import your card number and the remaining trips on your card.

Then click on the “Buy Transit Fare” button. You will be asked to “Select Travel Areas”, which means you need to specify the area of ​​departure and arrival. For example, are you only traveling in Zone A (the Montreal agglomeration) or are you traveling between Zones A and B, which includes Longueuil and Laval?

After doing this, you can select a transit fare, which will vary depending on which ticket you want to buy.

Click Next, confirm and pay for your order (Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards, as well as Interac cards with Google Pay and Apple Pay digital wallets are acceptable forms of payment). Then click Add Rates to complete the process. At this point, you will need to scan your card again.

That's it. Voila! You have just purchased the tariff on your phone.

Screenshots to come.

Are there any new features?

In a press release, ARTM says its team plans to make improvements “in the coming years.”

These include the ability to pay directly at the terminal with a bank card and the ability to manage tickets online or via smartphone without using a physical carrier.

In other words, don't throw away your OPUS card just yet. But you might be able to do that in the next few years.