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Half of all London Tube journeys are now made using contactless payments

Transport for London introduced contactless payments on the network in 2014: Philip Toscano/PA Archive/PA Images
Transport for London introduced contactless payments on the network in 2014: Philip Toscano/PA Archive/PA Images

Transport for London (TfL) only introduced contactless payments on the tube in 2014, but the payment method has taken off.

In just four years, people have adapted to the technology to such an extent that they are using contactless cards or mobile devices to make 17 million journeys a week.

Now, half of all pay as you go journeys made on London’s tube and rail services are using contactless payments.

It’s intriguing to see the level of contactless payments across the network. For instance, half a million contactless journeys are made from Oxford Circus every week – the equivalent of 50 cards touching in every minute.

And the use of mobile payments, such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, are on the rise. Around one in eight contactless journeys are being made using a smartphone or smart device, like the Apple Watch.

It’s not just commuters taking advantage of the easy payment methods. London’s airports support pay as you go travel now, meaning tourists visiting the city can step off their plane at Heathrow or Gatwick, and start their journey on TfL’s network straight away.

As a result, contactless cards from more than 120 countries across the world have been used on the network. In the last year, cards from Grenada, Dominican Republic and Pakistan were seen on our network for the first time.

TfL’s chief technology officer Shashi Verma said the contactless ticketing has made travelling in and around London quicker and convenient.

“We’re delighted with how popular this innovation has become and with the future extension of this technology across the Elizabeth line, even more customers will benefit in the future," said Verma.

The success of contactless payments in London means more cities around the world are looking to use TfL’s contactless ticketing system. In 2016, TfL signed a deal worth up to £15 million with Cubic Transportation Systems, which is adapting the ticketing system in places like New York, Sydney, Miami and Boston.

Though, it is perhaps unsurprising that London has been so adaptive to contactless payments, considering the city is increasingly becoming cashless. Londoners themselves have predicted that London will be completely cashless by 2036.

Fintech start-up Revolut thinks the cashless society is a long time coming. “With the rise of contactless and mobile payments, I hope and believe that it will be possible for the UK to be fully cashless within the next 10 years,” said Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut’s co-founder and CTO.

When technology like contactless payments makes it so easy to make transactions, it certainly doesn’t bode well for the future of cash.