using a contactless debit card on TfL

[Ken H]

I live miles away from london so go very infrequently, so no oyster card.

Can i use my debit card instead? Does it work OK?
Has anyone had any issues with this?
If you tap in and out a lot I assume it just charges for a day ticket. But do you get multiple items on your statement.
If this works well why do people bother getting oyster cards?

 

[yorkie]

Yes there is no need to use Oyster, unless you wish to load a discount or Travelcard Season onto it.

Yes if you make enough journeys to reach a relevant cap, that is what the overall charge for the day will be.

 

[transmanche]

If you tap in and out a lot I assume it just charges for a day ticket.

Yes, it charges the daily cap relevant to the zones/modes travelled.

But do you get multiple items on your statement.

No, it all gets bundled up into one daily charge

If this works well why do people bother getting oyster cards?

• If you have a discount loaded onto Oyster (e.g. certain Railcards)
• If you want a season ticket other than a weekly one running Mon-Sun
• If you just find it easier to budget that way
• If you prefer to have a separate card for travel, just in case you lose one

* E.g. I have a £20 auto top-up and I just find it easier to keep track of my transport spending with it coming out of my bank in £20 'lumps' rather than daily amounts. But that's just personal preference

 

[westv]

Yes, it charges the daily cap relevant to the zones/modes travelled.

No, it all gets bundled up into one daily charge

• If you have a discount loaded onto Oyster (e.g. certain Railcards)
• If you want a season ticket other than a weekly one running Mon-Sun
• If you just find it easier to budget that way
• If you prefer to have a separate card for travel, just in case you lose one

* E.g. I have a £20 auto top-up and I just find it easier to keep track of my transport spending with it coming out of my bank in £20 'lumps' rather than daily amounts. But that's just personal preference

Also if you prefer not to have to get your wallet out, then get the debit card out, swipe, put debit card back and then put wallet back.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Also if you prefer not to have to get your wallet out, then get the debit card out, swipe, put debit card back and then put wallet back.

You can also use your phone if you have Apple or Google Pay set up and like to avoid this.

 

[IanD]

You can also use your phone if you have Apple or Google Pay set up and like to avoid this.

But whatever you do, stick to the same card or phone all day, don't mix and match or you'll end up paying a lot more than you expect.

 

[cjp]

If you have say Apple pay set up with the same debit card would card and Pay spends get added together for capping?

 

[IanD]

If you have say Apple pay set up with the same debit card would card and Pay spends get added together for capping?

No. We had a thread on this just a couple of weeks ago after some woman had complained to MoneySavingExpert that she'd been doing that for a year and had only just noticed she'd been "overcharged" (aka correctly charged given what she was doing) by £700 due to not reaching caps, incomplete journeys etc...

 

[cjp]

Ok. Thanks

 

[jellybaby]

If you tap in and out a lot I assume it just charges for a day ticket.

Be careful if you are taping in and out at the same station in a short period of time as the system can then do things like join journeys together, you then reach maximum trip time and have two maximum fare charges.

If you are making 'normal' journeys and doing 'normal' things at each end you should be fine. If you are spending a day exploring the system you might be better off with a paper travelcard which can't get it wrong.

 

[SunSeeker]

As a member of staff I would advise if it's only a few journeys then yea sure use contactless.

Anything more regular then Oyster card all the way. Avoid contactless. So many times people come with problems touching in/out etc and all I can do is tell them to call customer services. Oysters we can easily sort out at stations.

If I was a paying customer I would personally never use contactless.

 

[AM9]

As a member of staff I would advise if it's only a few journeys then yea sure use contactless.

Anything more regular then Oyster card all the way. Avoid contactless. So many times people come with problems touching in/out etc and all I can do is tell them to call customer services. Oysters we can easily sort out at stations.

If I was a paying customer I would personally never use contactless.

There's mention of debit cards here, and I've used mine before, but will credit cards also be accepted for contactless payment?

 

[Mike395]

There's mention of debit cards here, and I've used mine before, but will credit cards also be accepted for contactless payment?

Yes all UK-issued credit cards (including AmEx) will work fine.

 

[radamfi]

In the unlikely event of forgetting to touch in, except on buses, you are safer with contactless.

 

[Busaholic]

As a member of staff I would advise if it's only a few journeys then yea sure use contactless.

Anything more regular then Oyster card all the way. Avoid contactless. So many times people come with problems touching in/out etc and all I can do is tell them to call customer services. Oysters we can easily sort out at stations.

If I was a paying customer I would personally never use contactless.

Very interesting to hear that from the horse's mouth, as it were. I have a contactless credit card for emergencies, but won't have a contactless debit card. With Barclaycard, unfortunately I don't have the option.

 

[Ken H]

Yes all UK-issued credit cards (including AmEx) will work fine.

foreign ones? surely any contactless visa or mastercard should work

 

[Mike395]

foreign ones? surely any contactless visa or mastercard should work

It should, but I'm aware of issues with certain foreign credit cards not working, even though contactless is enabled.

 

[Ken H]

It should, but I'm aware of issues with certain foreign credit cards not working, even though contactless is enabled.

Thanks.
I have family members who live abroad. I'll get them to try when they visit the UK. I suppose the first contact will fail, and they will have to buy a ticket.

 

[Mike395]

Thanks.
I have family members who live abroad. I'll get them to try when they visit the UK. I suppose the first contact will fail, and they will have to buy a ticket.

Most should still work - though I'm aware of a few issues with certain American banks not having their contactless AmEx cards set up properly for use on non-US contactless terminals, including TfL.

 

[mark-h]

Be careful if you are taping in and out at the same station in a short period of time as the system can then do things like join journeys together, you then reach maximum trip time and have two maximum fare charges.

The (unofficial) Oyster Rail website has a page on when it is best not to use Oyster/contactless. It explains the issues with maximum journey times and out of station interchanges.

 

[Springs Branch]

foreign ones? surely any contactless visa or mastercard should work

Non-UK contactless credit & debit cards (and not just US ones) can be hit-and-miss on TfL. I'm not sure of any 100% reliable way to find out if they'll work beyond try it and see once in London.

My own personal experience with contactless cards issued by Australian banks has been:
- Visa credit card issued by one of the regional AU banks - didn't work.
- Visa debit card issued by same smaller bank - didn't work.
- Mastercard credit issued by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (major bank) - worked OK.

This variability only applied when trying to use on TfL buses and tubes. All other contactless transactions in shops, cafes etc in UK worked faultlessly with any of these cards.

 

[Surreytraveller]

As a member of staff I would advise if it's only a few journeys then yea sure use contactless.

Anything more regular then Oyster card all the way. Avoid contactless. So many times people come with problems touching in/out etc and all I can do is tell them to call customer services. Oysters we can easily sort out at stations.

If I was a paying customer I would personally never use contactless.

I suppose if you had an issue tapping in or out, the issue would become apparent much sooner with an Oystercard, rather than waiting weeks for a credit card statement to arrive. With Oyster, you can do an instant check at a ticket machine (if at an Underground station) to see what's happened. No such facility exists with contactless

 

[Surreytraveller]

Be careful if you are taping in and out at the same station in a short period of time as the system can then do things like join journeys together, you then reach maximum trip time and have two maximum fare charges.

If you are making 'normal' journeys and doing 'normal' things at each end you should be fine. If you are spending a day exploring the system you might be better off with a paper travelcard which can't get it wrong.

I had that at Stratford. Tapped out to go to a specific shop, and I tapped in again within half an hour. It charged me two incomplete journeys. I wouldn't have realised if I was using contactless

 

[ijmad]

You can also use your phone if you have Apple or Google Pay set up and like to avoid this.

Danger with using a phone: if your battery runs out and you are unable to prove you have a valid ticket (either at the destination station's gateline or when challenged by a ticket inspector), you may be charged a penalty fare.

 

[ijmad]

I had that at Stratford. Tapped out to go to a specific shop, and I tapped in again within half an hour. It charged me two incomplete journeys. I wouldn't have realised if I was using contactless

The Oyster website and phone app are now capable of showing you the complete breakdown of your contactless travel and its costs, and if there's an incomplete journey you can fairly easily fix it through the website and get a refund next time you travel.

 

[Surreytraveller]

The Oyster website and phone app are now capable of showing you the complete breakdown of your contactless travel and its costs, and if there's an incomplete journey you can fairly easily fix it through the website and get a refund next time you travel.

Yes, but you aren't going to realise for a while, unlike Oyster where it shows your balance every time you swipe your card

 

[ijmad]

Yes, but you aren't going to realise for a while, unlike Oyster where it shows your balance every time you swipe your card

True. I suppose we all work in different ways. I rarely pay attention to what flashes up on the ticket gates when I'm rushing in/out of work - besides, I don't think there's anything you can do about it at a station anyway right? You just have to make a mental note to sort it when you get home.

 

[Surreytraveller]

True. I suppose we all work in different ways. I rarely pay attention to what flashes up on the ticket gates when I'm rushing in/out of work - besides, I don't think there's anything you can do about it at a station anyway right? You just have to make a mental note to sort it when you get home.

The staff can correct it straight away.

 

[radamfi]

With contactless you can go online and see your touch in or out within minutes.

 

[big all]

as an aside
i have never used my contactless card except for tfl and local buses in redhill it lives at the back off my leather wallet and never comes out apart from once in perhaps 40 uses so no need to remove from wallet if no other cards on top
but off course this only works with a single contactless[and i assume no oyster card ]in you wallet