London Tube will accept contactless payments from September 16

London tube
No more red light of doom at the barriers

Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Oyster card? Who cares? From September 16 this year, Londoners will be able to pay for the tube using contactless payments, meaning they can leave their Oyster card at home.

Contactless has been accepted on buses since 2012, and the new system will work much like it does for Oyster card payments; you'll touch in and out as per usual, while money will be taken directly out of your bank account.

Just as they are now, contactless fares will be limited by the Monday to Sunday capping system. We're also told that TFL will automatically calculate the lowest possible fare over the day or week.

Mind the clash

Only one charge per day will be sent to your bank, but you'll want to keep extra vigilant of card clashes by keeping your bank card and Oyster card well apart.

But if you're a season pass user, the unfortunate news is that you'll still need to carry your Oyster card, as you won't be able to put these on your bank card.

And not to be left out of the action, EE has announced that its contactless Cash on Tap payments app will be accepted on London's tube network also starting September 16.

You can go find more information about the contactless payment system over on TFL's website.

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.

Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.

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