In summary
enelBlanco activated and measured the Visa and Mastercard contactless payment pilot in the Santiago Metro, with 140+ field staff supporting users at the validation points and an AI dashboard capturing every interaction in real time. At the close of the activation, a comprehensive study of all messages and records surfaced key information to improve the service, understand users' real experience and build the arguments for future campaigns.
A tech pilot needed evidence, not just promotion
Pago Ágil aimed to build the habit of contactless payment with a Visa or Mastercard card directly at the Santiago Metro validators, replacing the need to buy or top up a bip! card. The challenge wasn't just communicating the novelty: it was supporting thousands of users at the exact moment of doubt, and capturing that real experience to find out what worked and what didn't.
A traditional campaign could have measured reach or impressions. Here the goal was different: understanding real behavior at the point of use, with data that neither Visa nor Mastercard could get from their own transaction systems alone.
140+ field staff, face to face with every user
We deployed a team of trained field staff at high-traffic stations, directly supporting users at the moment of validating their card: resolving doubts, guiding the correct gesture over the reader, and logging every interaction that ran into friction or went smoothly.
Deployment
140+ field staff coordinated across high-traffic stations.
Support
Direct support for users at the moment of validating their card.
Recording
Every interaction, doubt or friction point was documented in the field.
Live dashboard
The data was processed with AI on a real-time panel.
1,643+ records, one panel, and a real-time reading
Every field observation was loaded into a central system. With 1,643+ records analyzed, the team could see on an AI dashboard not just how many validations were happening, but at which stations, at what time of day and with what kind of friction — the foundation of the Field Intelligence that later became the closing study.
A comprehensive analysis of all messages and records
When the activation was complete, the full set of messages, field records and dashboard data was analyzed. That cross-analysis produced six types of findings, organized to be useful beyond the report itself: for the service, for the user and for upcoming campaigns.
1. Technical improvements to the service
Cross-referencing the records identified specific points for technical adjustment: validator behavior during peak-flow hours, reading response times, and cases where the payment gesture needed a second pass. Information directly applicable to those who operate and calibrate the system.
2. UX issues experienced by users
Field staff logged the exact moments of doubt: where to bring the card close, how long to hold it there, and the uncertainty of not knowing whether the payment had gone through. Friction was also documented among users carrying several cards together in a wallet or phone case.
3. Improvements identified
Based on the most repeated patterns of doubt, concrete adjustments were proposed: clearer signage on the validators, more obvious visual and audio confirmation, and training recommendations for station staff at the points of highest friction.
4. User reception
Logging spontaneous comments in the field showed a largely positive reception: users especially valued the speed compared with the usual process of buying or topping up a bip! card. Initial resistance was concentrated among users less familiar with contactless payment, who needed more support from the team in the moment.
5. Key users
Cross-referencing schedules, stations and frequency of use made it possible to profile the earliest adopters: frequent Metro users during working hours, who already used their card regularly for other payments and valued not having to depend on another means of access.
6. Hero arguments for future campaigns
From users' own spontaneous language came the strongest messages for communicating the service: speed compared with buying a ticket, the convenience of not needing another card, and the confidence of using the same payment method they already use every day. Arguments backed by real field evidence, not assumptions from a brief.
What was left behind, beyond the activation
Pago Ágil didn't just close with an activation delivered: it closed with a body of evidence — technical, user-experience and communication — that Visa and Mastercard can use in product decisions and in designing their next campaign.