EE customers to tap in on buses with mobile

From 16 September EE customers will be able to use their mobile phone to pay for travel on the London bus network for the first time.

In an effort to make paying on London buses faster and more practical, customers with Cash on Tap enabled handsets will be able to tap their smartphones without the need for an Oyster card or contactless debit card. The service also avoids the issue of card clash, where gates may not open if customers have more than one contactless card in their wallet.

EE’s Cash on Tap service launched last year and is due to be compatible with over 500,000 handsets by the end of 2014. There are no added charges to use the service and both daily and weekly caps are in place to make sure customers do not pay more than they would using an Oyster card.

“More people use London’s buses than all the other bus services across the country combined, so the need for speedy and simple payment solutions is paramount,” said Pippa Dunn, chief consumer marketing officer at EE.

“That’s why we’ve been working hard to bring our contactless mobile payments service, Cash on Tap, to TfL’s network – removing the need for customers to queue for a ticket, or hunt through their pockets and bags to find the right card.”

Contactless payment on London’s buses is the first step in a wider roll-out across the capital’s transport network, with Cash on Tap payments due to be accepted when TfL’s contactless payment system goes live on the London Underground, DLR and Overground network in September.