FirstPartner is pleased to announce that Stephen Cooles has joined the team, bringing extensive global expertise to its transit ticketing and payments practice. He will support FirstPartner’s clients in navigating the complexities of cEMV transit payments, deployment strategies, and the development of global partner ecosystems.

Stephen is a highly skilled senior leader with over 25 years of experience in the transit ticketing and payments industry.

During his time at Visa, Stephen led the high-performing global urban mobility partnership team, playing a pivotal role in growing Visa’s contactless acceptance footprint to more than 800 deployments worldwide. He oversaw the development of the Visa Ready for Transit programme, managing relationships with the world’s largest transit technology providers and acquirers.

Stephen’s unique perspective is rooted in his early career at Transport for London (TfL), where he led the marketing and communications for the world’s first major city launch of contactless ticketing. His work at TfL involved aligning global payment schemes, digital wallets, and UK transit stakeholders to deliver both Oyster and cEMV systems.

“Having been at the forefront of the contactless revolution from its early days in London to its global expansion with Visa, I’ve seen firsthand how the right partnerships can transform urban mobility,” said Stephen. “I am thrilled to join FirstPartner and leverage this experience to help agencies and technology providers deliver seamless, innovative transit and payment experiences.”

If you want to contact Stephen at FirstPartner e-mail him at scooles@firstpartner.net or connect with him on LinkedIn. Stephen will be at Transport Ticketing Global 2026, in London 17th and 18th March 2026, if you want to meet him or anyone else from the FirstPartner team.

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