Dutch Rail has blocked the cards of several digital payment services, including Revolut, Paysafe and Vivid, because they allow travellers to travel for free.

The apps of the services offer travellers the possibility to create a temporary virtual card which can be used to check in and out legitimately.

Removing the card after the journey means the transaction, which is not processed until nighttime, does not exist.

The fraud has been known about for years but it is the first time the services have been blocked.

NS did not want to comment on the amount of money lost through the fraud but confirmed “serious abuse” of the digital pay system. “We would rather not have done this because now people who use these services and pay for their journey are also duped,” a spokesman told broadcaster NOS. “But that shows you how serious a problem this is

Revolut said it was looking a “legal options in the interest of our Dutch customers”, a spokesman said, while Translink, the company behind the OVPay digital payment system, said it would not change the timing of its payment processing.

“To process a payment immediately would mean that checking in and out would take 10 to 15 seconds. We want to speed up public transport, not slow it down,” a Translink spokesman said.

Vivid said it would look at “a technical solution,” which it said could be in place in September.

Paysafe, the only service which has been blocked by public transport services nationally, declined to comment.