EE brings contactless smartphone payments to London buses

EE brings contactless smartphone payments to London buses
All aboard, next stop Contactless

EE has announced that its contactless Cash on Tap application is now compatible with all London buses, with support extending to the London Underground, DLR and Overground services from September 16.

There's no waiting required for those of you who love travelling on the iconic red double deckers, as you can jump aboard any one of the 8,600 buses from today and use the Cash on Tap app to pay for your journey.

EE promises that you'll pay the same using its app as you would using an Oyster card, with any single journey costing £1.45, with daily and Monday to Sunday bus fares capped at £4.40 and £20.20 respectively.

Being able to leave your Oyster card at home - and potentially your contactless bank card as well - means there's less chance of the dreaded "card clash" happening too.

Limited appeal

You'll need to be an EE pay monthly customer and have a compatible, NFC-enabled Android smartphone (sorry iPhone and Windows Phone owners) for the service to work - so it's rather limited for now.

At the moment the service only supports pay-as-you-go journeys, and we'll have to wait and see about season ticket support - although it does provide the same value as daily and weekly passes.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.