Public transport users in London can now pay for their fares using Android Pay, the new payment app developed by Google.
The service is similar to the contactless payment option already available on many debit and credit cards and allows card holders to set up an Android Pay and then pay by holding their smartphone against the Oyster and contactless card reader.
Contactless fares were first introduced on London’s bus fleet in 2012 before being extended to the Overground, Tube, buses and trams and most National Rail services in London in 2014.
In addition to contactless debit and credit cards, passengers can also pay for their journey using Apple Pay on their iPhone or Apple Watch plus devices such as Barclaycard’s bPay.
Passenger take-up of contactless payment has exceeded TfL’s initial projections and the agency now accounts for one in ten contactless transactions in the UK, making it the one of the largest contactless merchants worldwide.
The addition of Android Pay means passengers have a wide range of alternatives to Oyster and that more passengers can benefit from contactless fares features such as weekly capping.
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”.
