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PAYG - Two people but only 1 card !

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coxy

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Hi,

We recently travelled between Hayes & Harlington and West Drayton. Without thinking, I purchased 2 x Anytime Day Singles at £3.20 each from the TVM.

Later on that evening I realised we could have made the journey for half the price if we'd used PAYG and touched in/out on the card readers at these stations.

However we only had 1 bank card between us - so my question is how can 2 people travelling together use PAYG, is there an option to tap in twice and tap out twice at your destination ??
 
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WelshBluebird

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You can't. One of the two would either have to get an Oyster card or get a paper ticket.
 

yorkie

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However we only had 1 bank card between us - so my question is how can 2 people travelling together use PAYG, is there an option to tap in twice and tap out twice at your destination ??
Ask your bank if they can issue you with a card for a second cardholder and that would solve the issue
 

cactustwirly

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You could get a contactless cash card, like a revolut card for example
 

James H

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There's also the likes of bPay which offers a contactless key fob rather than card.
 

andrewkeith5

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Apple Pay or Android Pay would also do the job for this, would they not? Apple Pay at least uses a separate card number to the linked card.

Alternatively, try something like Curve - which is a virtual card that charges transactions back to your choice of other Visa/Mastercard, but for the sake of TfL is it's own Mastercard. If you'd like more info, let me know.
 

James H

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TfL’s system doesn’t necessarily cope well with travel recorded on the same day on both a payment card and a linked device eg Google Pay.
 

andrewkeith5

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TfL’s system doesn’t necessarily cope well with travel recorded on the same day on both a payment card and a linked device eg Google Pay.

Interesting - why would it be a problem? I'm inclined to go and try it now!

I thought that Apple Pay simply used a different card number to the original card - which as far as TfL are concerned would mean they're different and the bank can link them up later? Given Apple Pay continues to work after the card it's linked to has been blocked, and doesn't need to be re-setup when the new card arrives, I'd have thought TfL wouldn't even notice. Does Google Pay work differently?
 

James H

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There's a recent thread here where some oddities are discussed. I've certainly been undercharged in the past in that situation, but I wouldn't recommend deliberately gaming the system in this way.

If two people are travelling, better to use two completely unconnected cards / devices, or an Oyster.
 

andrewkeith5

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There's a recent thread here where some oddities are discussed. I've certainly been undercharged in the past in that situation, but I wouldn't recommend deliberately gaming the system in this way.

If two people are travelling, better to use two completely unconnected cards / devices, or an Oyster.

In that case, if the OP for some reason is reluctant to get another bank account or credit card, I revert to my advice to use a Curve card :) that way the transactions all end up processing through the same account but from two separate cards.

Although, realistically speaking, I never advise anyone to carry only one payment card. I always advise carrying at least two cards, a Visa and a Mastercard, to mitigate any risk if a payment provider has a problem with one or the other, or if an account is fraudulently used. It is sickening to see so many reports of people ending up with no ability to buy the things they need to live or becoming stranded because they haven't taken the precaution of giving themselves more than one method of accessing money and a problem has occurred.
 
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Mojo

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Interesting - why would it be a problem? I'm inclined to go and try it now!

I thought that Apple Pay simply used a different card number to the original card - which as far as TfL are concerned would mean they're different and the bank can link them up later? Given Apple Pay continues to work after the card it's linked to has been blocked, and doesn't need to be re-setup when the new card arrives, I'd have thought TfL wouldn't even notice. Does Google Pay work differently?
I'd be intrigued to know how it works, as on my TfL Contactless account I registered my account using the details printed on the physical card, yet when I make a journey with either Apple Pay or the actual card itself, both journeys appear on the TfL journey history. So even if they do appear as separate card numbers the TfL back office system must reconcile them at one point as transactions made either on my mobile device or physical card appear on the same TfL journey history.
 

andrewkeith5

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I'd be intrigued to know how it works, as on my TfL Contactless account I registered my account using the details printed on the physical card, yet when I make a journey with either Apple Pay or the actual card itself, both journeys appear on the TfL journey history. So even if they do appear as separate card numbers the TfL back office system must reconcile them at one point as transactions made either on my mobile device or physical card appear on the same TfL journey history.

It is interesting...They must have some link back to the card providers to match the card numbers together somehow. I would be fascinated to know!
 

button_boxer

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I'd be intrigued to know how it works, as on my TfL Contactless account I registered my account using the details printed on the physical card, yet when I make a journey with either Apple Pay or the actual card itself, both journeys appear on the TfL journey history. So even if they do appear as separate card numbers the TfL back office system must reconcile them at one point as transactions made either on my mobile device or physical card appear on the same TfL journey history.

I have the same thing, and while the physical card and the Apple Pay device both show up in my online account they are considered separate "cards" with separate payment histories. I know they warn you that you can't touch in with the physical card and out with the phone or vice versa on one journey (if you do you'll get two incomplete journey charges).
 

coxy

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Thanks to WelshBluebird for clarifying in post #2.

With regards to how we get additional cards - we've got plenty, just that we only had a single card with us at the time of travel.

I'll make sure to take two separate cards next time we're out & about.
 
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