[6] Compared to the previous system, the Opus card is integrated with other transit networks of neighbouring cities, and does not risk becoming demagnetized and rendered useless.

Unlike other transit cards, such as Presto (Ontario) and Compass (Metro Vancouver), the Opus is not a stored-value system.

The appropriate fare is deducted when paying at any machine, in a similar fashion to PayPass, and daily, weekly, and monthly passes are used before individual tickets.

The main goal behind the creation of this card was to reduce fare evasion in the province's transit systems.

In preparation for this new step in Montreal's public transportation network, turnstiles that incorporate the reader and vending machines were installed in Metro stations; buses had previously been fitted with new fare boxes that incorporate the card reader, in order to ensure the uniformity of methods of payment across Montreal’s transit network and that of its suburbs.