Transport for London has made good on its years-long endeavor to accept open-loop contactless payment on the London Underground and its other modes of transit, clearing the way for what is expected to be millions of yearly contactless transactions from bank cards and later, NFC mobile phones.
The transit authority, which began its initial evaluation of what would become open-loop fare collection more than eight years ago, introduced contactless bank card payment on its busy subway system, as well as trams and light rail last week. It had already accepted open-loop payment on buses since late 2012, but has expanded that from a strictly pay-as-you go model to one supporting flexible fare policy as with the other modes of transit.
Transport for London joins Chicago and a few other smaller cities in enabling consumers to pay with the same contactless credit, debit and prepaid bank cards for fares they use in stores.
