Oyster v Contactless cards – Summary of the differences

In 2014, London’s public transport authorities implemented contactless cards & Apple Pay as another payment option.

The system is very similar to the Oyster card, the smartcard based travel solution currently used by the vast majority of passengers.

Contactless cards & Apple Pay offer the great advantage of not being limited to just London public transport. You can use your regular debit or credit card, the one you rely on for many daily purchases. As long as your payment card features contactless technology, you can conveniently use it to pay for public transport in London.

Using a contactless payment card is almost identical to using an Oyster card. You simply swipe your card at the ticket barriers.

If you are not familiar with Oyster, please read our Oyster card page to bring you up to speed.

In addition, You can also link your supported payment cards to Apple Pay, allowing you to use your iPhone or Apple Watch for convenient contactless payments.

Oyster v Contactless cards – Summary of the differences

• The fare system for using a Contactless card is very similar to that of an Oyster card. However, the Contactless card offers a 7-day cap that runs from Monday to Sunday, which is not an option with the Oyster card, in addition to the daily cap.
• Visitor Oyster cards have a non-refundable activation fee of £7. Newly issued Oyster cards cost £7 which is refundable. Contactless payment cards have no similar charges.
• When you use an Oyster card, you load credit onto it prior to your journey, and it automatically deducts the fares as you travel.
  In contrast, with contactless cards, the system sums up the total fare for all your trips at the end of the day, resulting in a single charge to your contactless payment card.
  If you’re visiting from abroad and plan to use a credit or debit card for contactless payments, keep in mind that your card issuer may apply foreign exchange fees, just as they would for any other transaction made in British pounds
• In contrast to the Oyster card, the contactless payment option features a 7-day cap, similar to the daily cap available with the Oyster card. They price this cap the same as a 7-day Travelcard. However, the key distinction is that a 7-day Travelcard can begin on any day of the week and is valid for 7 consecutive days, while the contactless card’s 7-day cap is strictly from Monday to Sunday.
• You can’t add discount entitlements to a contactless payment card. If you are eligible for free or discounted travel, you should continue using your existing Oyster card. This in effect rules out children using contactless payment methods.

Contactless payment cards – is my card valid?

Most people make contactless payments with cards. However, mobile phone payments, key fobs, stickers and other methods of contactless payment are becoming more common using the technology.

The device that supports the technology will display the contactless payment symbol (see image above). You can also see an example on the credit card image at the top of the page.

Contactless payment cards issued in the UK

If you issued your card in the UK on Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or American Express and it displays the contactless payment symbol, you should be able to use it to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.

American Express (AMEX) issued anywhere

All American Express contactless payment cards with the contactless symbol should be valid.

MasterCard issued outside UK

Nearly all businesses accept MasterCard and Maestro contactless payment cards issued outside the UK. The majority of businesses do not accept cards issued in the USA, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Visa issued outside UK

Some providers do not accept Visa and V PAY contactless payment cards from countries other than the UK for contactless travel on our services. Visa expects all providers to accept its contactless payment cards in the near future.

Others like Diners Club, JCB or Union Pay

London transport does not accept contactless payment cards issued on other platforms, such as Diners Club, JCB or Union Pay.

Apple Pay

Important aspects of using contactless payment cards

Gatwick Express

Heathrow Express

Southern Trains between London Victoria and Gatwick

Fare zones

London organizes the public transportation network into zones that extend outward from the city centre. Zone 1 features most hotels and popular attractions.

Heathrow Airport is situated in Zone 6, while they designate Zone 9 as the outermost zone.

For most travellers, the journey will typically be confined to the two central zones, 1 and 2. The London  Underground Map, clearly indicates the stations along with their respective zones. You can also view the rail and tube services map.

Certain stations, such as Turnham Green, span two zones, allowing you to choose the zone that offers the best fare calculation for your trip.

The fare you pay is set by which zones your departure and destination stations are in. Your journey starts when you go through the ticket barrier of the station entrance you depart from and finishes when you pass through the ticket barrier at the exit of your destination.

You cannot break a journey on a single fare, once you go though an exit barrier of a station that is journey completed. You can change trains at an interchange station and as you do not go through an exit barrier at the station your fare is not calculated until you exit through a barrier at your ultimate destination after switching trains.

London’s red buses do not have zones. With Oyster or a contactless payment card, a flat fee per bus journey is charged wherever and whenever you ride.

You can now use contactless payment cards for a single fare on the high speed trains between St Pancras and Stratford, meaning you no longer need to use ticket machines. However, do note that special high speed fares apply and these fares fall outside the usual capping. The daily cap here may be more expensive than a rail-only paper ticket.

The Oyster / Contactless payment card daily price cap

Price caps are the maximum you will pay in a day, a price ceiling. No matter how many individual trips you make in any 24 hour period between 4.30am and 4.30am you will not be charged more than the price cap amount. This price cap spreads across all modes of transport, so if you mix bus, underground and DLR in one day the same price cap applies.

Fare capping & using Contactless cards on buses

Using a contactless card on the buses is the same as an Oyster, just swipe your card over the pad on entry and the machine will confirm your fare has been taken. That’s it, you don’t get a ticket and you don’t swipe it again on exiting the bus.

If you use only buses to travel on a calendar day, there is a special lower daily cap than the daily cap stated below which is for when you use other transport in London in your travel mix. Check the London bus page for the current bus only cap. There is also a 7 day bus only cap available on contactless cards lower than the 7 day cap stated below, again look at the bus page for the current rate.

Price caps for Oyster & contactless card payments, compared to Travelcard prices

From 3 March 2025

* Travelcard peak fares apply for any travel made Monday to Friday before 9.30am. All other travel is off-peak.

** Prices for a 7 day Travelcard. Also the 7 day cap for contactless payment cards between Monday to Sunday – not available on Oyster.

SPECIAL CAP FOR BUS TRAVEL ONLY: £5.25 (When you only travel on London’s buses on 1 day).

CHILDREN’S OYSTER CAPS: Off-peak: £1.90 (zones 1-9). Peak: approx. half of adult cap.

Child concessions with Contactless Payment cards