using a contactless debit card on TfL

[Surreytraveller]

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

But you'd need to know you needed to do that

 

[Hadders]

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

Most people these days wouldn't need to wait weeks for a statement to arrive as they use online banking. As also noted you can check contactless transactions on TfL within 15 minutes on their website - no account is needed to do this.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Most people these days wouldn't need to wait weeks for a statement to arrive as they use online banking. As also noted you can check contactless transactions on TfL within 15 minutes on their website - no account is needed to do this.

Yes, I know, but as I've already stated, something or someone would need to prompt you that you needed to check your online account. Are TfL going to send you a text to tell you that??

 

[rebmcr]

Yes, I know, but as I've already stated, something or someone would need to prompt you that you needed to check your online account. Are TfL going to send you a text to tell you that??

Incomplete journey alerts would actually be a good feature for the app. Perhaps you should suggest it to them?

 

[Surreytraveller]

Incomplete journey alerts would actually be a good feature for the app. Perhaps you should suggest it to them?

Sounds like a good idea. I only use contactless for buses, and Oystercard for the Underground (as I have a discount loaded).

 

[rebmcr]

Sounds like a good idea. I only use contactless for buses, and Oystercard for the Underground (as I have a discount loaded).

There are plans to enable associating discounts (and Travelcard products) with contactless at some point.

 

[Surreytraveller]

There are plans to enable associating discounts (and Travelcard products) with contactless at some point.

Seems like an obvious thing to do - I imagine it might be an issue if people start swapping or replacing their cards, though. Then you have child discounts etc

 

[ijmad]

The staff can correct it straight away.

Ain't nobody got time for that

 

[MikeWh]

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

It probably wouldn't have happened with contactless. If an OSI causes journeys to be joined and this results in incomplete journeys then the back-office system will break the OSI and charge you for the two journeys.

The staff can correct it straight away.

It depends. If the issue is with Underground travel then they can, but if it's National Rail then they won't.

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

But you'd need to know you needed to do that

I always keep an eye on what I'm being charged through the app/website unless it's simple short journeys. It's amusing to see how the system tries to predict where you're going from past travel.

Most people these days wouldn't need to wait weeks for a statement to arrive as they use online banking. As also noted you can check contactless transactions on TfL within 15 minutes on their website - no account is needed to do this.

Are you sure? My understanding is that on-the-day history is only available via an online account.

Sounds like a good idea. I only use contactless for buses, and Oystercard for the Underground (as I have a discount loaded).

You might end up paying more if you cap on the Oyster.

 

[Surreytraveller]

You might end up paying more if you cap on the Oyster.

I would have to make a lot of trips to pay more, with the discount I have loaded on my Oystercard!

 

[MikeWh]

I would have to make a lot of trips to pay more, with the discount I have loaded on my Oystercard!

So it's a fare discount but not a cap discount? Fair enough, although for the benefit of people reading this who are not rail staff, this is not a normal situation.

 

[Surreytraveller]

So it's a fare discount but not a cap discount? Fair enough, although for the benefit of people reading this who are not rail staff, this is not a normal situation.

I suppose so! Hadn’t thought of that before. Do normal railcards not get a discount on the fare, then? Just the cap? Even if they only use National Rail services?

 

[MikeWh]

I suppose so! Hadn’t thought of that before. Do normal railcards not get a discount on the fare, then? Just the cap? Even if they only use National Rail services?

Normal railcard/gold card discounts both off-peak caps and off-peak fares. In the afternoon peak it won't discount the fares but the cap remains discounted. The discount is also only 34%, but does apply to all rail services. Your discount is a lot more, but only applies to TfL fares, which is why it can't apply to the cap as well.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Normal railcard/gold card discounts both off-peak caps and off-peak fares. In the afternoon peak it won't discount the fares but the cap remains discounted. The discount is also only 34%, but does apply to all rail services. Your discount is a lot more, but only applies to TfL fares, which is why it can't apply to the cap as well.

Seems awfully complicated! Before the Oystercard came out, railstaff used to be able to buy a PRIV rate One Day Travelcard for £2 which was only valid on Underground/DLR. When the Oystercard was invented and we could have the PRIV discount loaded onto it, we were told Oyster fares would be discounted, and a cap of £2 would apply. I asked how this worked in combination with bus fares and the bus cap, and if two caps would work side by side. They replied I couldn't use it on buses, but of course you could. Shortly afterwards, the PRIV cap was abandoned, and I believe the normal public cap applies to PRIV discounted Oystercards now. And my discount also applies to National Rail fares as well, not just TfL. I think that's been the case for about 5 or 6 years

 

[jumble]

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

I agree completly
I use a blackberry and do not wish to find a PC and log in every time i wnt to see what I have been charged
I travel around sometimes getting Maximum fares for being on too long ( Always courteously refunded by TFL as it is usually no touch out and no touch in and the CSAs cannot do more than one)

I therefore avoid contactless like the plague
i do agree that it is useful if you have forgotten to tap in then it is harder with contactless for an RPI to issue penalty fares as their usual inspection does not show anything amiss but as I hardly ever travel on Docklands or unbariered TFL Rail but almost always on barriered stations then this is not an issue for me.

 

[Tetchytyke]

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

In theory, but my experience is a lot of barriers don't show the balance, or flash it so briefly you can't read it.

The app is pretty much instantly updated with contactless journeys, btw.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Are you sure? My understanding is that on-the-day history is only available via an online account.

You can do it through the app too, though it remains provisional until the end of the day.

The app shows it well.

 

[MikeWh]

You can do it through the app too, though it remains provisional until the end of the day.

The app shows it well.

But the card still has to be registered to your account before you can view it online, or through the app.

 

[Deerfold]

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.

I've only had the experience the other way round. Most Swedish buses are cashless - however when my wife and I tried to use UK contactless cards our bank decided these were suspicious transactions (presumably they're handled differently to TfL ones which don't charge the card straight away). We both had a letter from the bank explaining this when we got back to the UK...

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

Yes, it gets complicated when you've a Contactless Card and a Rejsekort and a Skånetrafiken JoJo card. And a West Yorkshire MCard. And a MoGo card. And a RidaCard. And soon probably a Northern card. Fortunately the New York Metrocard doesn't interact with barriers.

 

[big all]

Yes, it gets complicated when you've a Contactless Card and a Rejsekort and a Skånetrafiken JoJo card. And a West Yorkshire MCard. And a MoGo card. And a RidaCard. And soon probably a Northern card. Fortunately the New York Metrocard doesn't interact with barriers.

i actually asked for a normal bank card a year ago without contactless to avoid conflict
now because i only used my account on line apparently the card needs to be "activated" by use off the pin number via cash machine or other transaction within a short time or its cancelled
any way the upshot is because i get my bus pass in a few weeks i chose to order the replacement as contactless as i wont ever have to use my card for day to day bus travel so can now remove the tin foil covering the bank card