OYSTER CARD PAYMENT BY CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD TO LAUNCH IN 16 OF SEPTEMBER 2014

Millions of London Underground passengers will soon be able to ditch their Oyster cards and gain access to the tube network using only their bank card.

Transport for London said that from 16 September people can simply tap a debit or credit card – if it is enabled for contactless payment – on the terminal gates as they start and end their journey, with the payment coming straight out of the bank account.

Bus travellers in London have been able to pay for their single journeys using contactless banks cards since 2012, and the technology is now being introduced for the tube, Docklands Light Railway and London Overground trains. The wider use comes almost a year later than planned and follows a trial of about 3,000 passengers.

TfL said it expects the move will save it up to £80m in the next five years by reducing payments to the firm providing Oyster cards, though it has no plans to phase the method out.

Ahead of the contactless introduction, tube tannoys have been warning passengers about the risk of "card clash". Commuters have been told not to keep two contactless bank cards in their wallet as the wrong one could be charged when they touch in or out.

And, as with Oyster, there will still be a daily and weekly cap on the cost of journeys.

TfL said all UK-issued contactless credit, debit and prepaid cards will work, but some non-UK cards may not. All customers will be able to see their journeys and payments over the previous seven days using the TfL website.

Industry analysts said the move would give a much needed boost tocontactless payments, which have only recently become popular despite being offered by some banks since 2007.

Coffee shops, fast food outlets, and a number of supermarkets now accept contactless payments of up to £20. Customers do not have to enter their pin, and 700,000 contactless transactions are made every single day, according to Barclaycard.

The lack of cards has held back take-up, and only 30% of the 157m UK bank cards in circulation have the technology – although the numbers are rising daily. The UK Cards Association's managing director, Graham Peacop, said: "This is a major step for contactless cards and their introduction across London's transport network means we expect their surge to continue.

Source: www.theguardian.com