Londoners to be able to use contactless bank card for touch in and out travel

New system will be introduced in time for the 2012 Olympics

London commuters will soon be able to use a contactless bank or credit card to touch in and out for pay on travel on the bus, Tube, Docklands Light Railway, Tram and London Overground network.

The new system will be up and running on all of London's 8,000 buses in time for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Discussions are also under way with the Train Operating Companies that serve London about whether contactless payment cards could be used on National Rail services where Oyster is currently accepted.

Oyster will also continue to be accepted for the many millions of customers who use it every day.

To make the new system possible TfL is upgrading software in the Oyster smartcard system to recognise contactless credit and debit cards issued by Visa, MasterCard and American Express as well as Oyster cards.

Certain features of contactless payments will be adapted, such as that customers will never be asked to enter a PIN at a busy station gate-line.
 
Customers who choose to pay this way will be charged for their travel directly from their bank or credit card account.

This innovation will significantly increase visitors' ability to make the most of their time in London, and will increase London's attractiveness as a destination for tourism and business and its competitiveness with other world cities.

Contactless payment will also reduce commissions and processing costs for TfL, as well as enabling a reduction in the number of Oyster cards produced and issued.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "London leads the way in so many different fields and we will be the first in the world to allow the millions using our Tube, trams, buses and trains to benefit from the ease of using this technology."

Further information:
Transport for London