Got A MasterCard And Apple Pay? You Can Travel For Free In London Today
Payments firm opens up TfL network to promote its contactless services
MasterCard is treating its London-based Apple Pay users to a free day’s travel around the capital today as it looks to show off its next-generation payment services.
Users in the capital with a MasterCard a linked to their Apple Pay account on an Apple Watch or iPhone can travel on Tube, buses, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London all day today.
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The promotion hopes to highlight how effective using contactless methods to pay for your journey can be, with TfL claiming that over one million contactless journeys are made every day, with contactless journeys made across all modes making up nearly 25 percent of pay as you go journeys.
Customers can tap in or out of TfL services across the capital all day, up to a maximum fare of £27.90, which will be refunded by MasterCard.
You don’t even have to be a permanent London resident to partake in the scheme – all you need is an Apple Pay account linked to a MasterCard.
The promotion will be continuing for the next two Mondays as part of MasterCard’s ‘Fare Free Mondays’.
“The move by TfL last year to accept contactless cards and devices on London Underground has been a phenomenal catalyst to the growth in contactless payments across the UK,” said Mark Barnett, president of MasterCard UK&I.
“Now that Apple Pay has arrived we want to encourage travellers on London’s transport network to try it out and give them another convenient option to pay for their travel. What better way to do this, than to offer MasterCard customers using Apple Pay the chance to travel for free over the next four consecutive Mondays.”
Following the launch of Apple Pay back in the summer, TfL issued a user’s guide to utilising the technology across its network. This included making sure that whichever device you use has enough battery to last for the full extent of your journey.
If this happens, you could be charged a maximum fare due to not being able to touch out at the end of your trip. And if an inspector asks you to touch your iPhone or Apple Watch on their reader and you’re out of juice, you could be liable for a penalty fare.
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