Recently, TFL have
enabled Android Pay users to travel
on London Transport services.
First we had Oyster
cards back in 2003, then Contactless bank cards in 2014 (London Buses started
early in late 2012), then in mid 2015 came Apple Pay and now Android Pay!
From TFL press release
Android Pay accepted
for pay as you go travel in London
From
today (18 May), customers can use Android Pay
on their mobile phone to travel on TfL services, including the Tube, buses and
trams, as well as most National Rail services in London, following its wider UK
launch this morning.
The new payment app,
developed by Google, supports MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards from
many of the UK's major financial institutions — including Bank of
Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and
Nationwide Building Society — with new banks being added all the time.
To
use Android Pay, customers just need to
download the app from the Google Play Store and set up their account with their
bank card. They then simply touch in and out with the top half of their
phone on the yellow card reader at a station, or touch in only on a bus or at a
tram stop, in the same way they use their Oyster or contactless payment card.
TfL
then calculates the best fare for each day or week, depending on where and when
customers have travelled. The costs of all journeys a customer makes are then
added together and, if appropriate, daily and weekly (Monday to Sunday) caps
are applied. Customers can also get further advice by visiting
tfl.gov.uk/androidpay
Shashi
Verma, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Customer Experience at TfL
said: `It's great to see another mobile ticketing option introduced into the
market. Android is a popular mobile operating system and we have been working
closely with Google to ensure that Android Pay is fully incorporated into the
Capital's transport network.
`Contactless
payments have been a huge success with more than 400 million contactless journeys made already across all TfL and
most National Rail services in London, using cards from over 80 countries. As
more people see the benefits of this quick and easy to use technology, we're
confident the number will increase even more.'
Spencer
Spinnell, Director of Business Development at Google, said: `We want to make
payments simpler for everyone, so we've worked with TfL to enable Android Pay
on the Tube, buses and trains across London. This adds to the list of almost 460,000 contactless payment terminals
in the UK where people can seamlessly tap and pay with their Android phones'.
TfL was the first
public transport provider to accept contactless payment cards and will continue this
record of innovation by becoming the first transport organisation in the world
to accept Android Pay as a method of ticketing. One in ten contactless transactions in the UK are made on TfL's network,
making TfL one of the largest contactless merchants worldwide. More than ten
million unique credit or debit cards have been used on TfL services so far.
Earlier this year, pay
as you go using contactless and Oyster was extended to cover services between
London and Gatwick Airport.
TfL are now working to further expand the benefits of pay as you go to all
London airports as well as other key locations around the commuter belt.
Around a third of all
pay as you go journeys made in London are now made using contactless payments,
with the top five stations for contactless payments being Oxford Circus, Kings
Cross, London Bridge, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf.
More
information on contactless payments can be found at tfl.gov.uk/contactless
As I've said in my
previous articles, this is a stepping stone towards the 'cashless society.' The methods of ticketing for London Transport
has changed so people can travel using their contactless bank card.
My advice is, don’t
forget to register your card with TFL to keep track of your journeys so that if your
journeys are disrupted you may be able to get a refund. (Depending on the
situation.)
Follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google Plus which is
@CLondoner92
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