TfL adoption of contactless payments to boost transactions to over 500m a year, claims Visa

Card firm says Transport for London's new policy will be a catalyst for contactless payments

More than 500 million contactless payments will be made in the UK next year, Visa Europe has predicted following Transport for London's (TfL) introduction of mobile contactless payments on its network.

The move enables London transport users to use their contactless payment cards instead of an Oyster Card to pay for Tube, tram, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail services. These forms of transport follow on from London buses, which have accepted contactless payments since December 2012.

It means Londoners can now pay for travel with their bank cards, avoiding the requirement to top up an Oyster Card. The option to pay with a contactless bank card is especially useful for bus users, who no longer have the option of using cash to pay for journeys.

"The rollout out of Visa contactless across the TfL network is a landmark moment for this easy and convenient way to pay and we're delighted to have played such a key role in its design and implementation," said Sandra Alzetta, executive director of Visa Europe.

"From today, TfL accepts the 40 million Visa contactless cards already active in the UK and it's our intention that any customer with a Visa-enabled mobile device will also be able to use it to travel on the TfL network."

Visa noted that the use of contactless cards doubled between June 2013 and June 2014, with payments reaching £140m.

"We've seen an incredible response to the launch of contactless payments on London buses, with nearly 19 million Visa contactless journeys made since it launched in 2012," Alzetta continued. "Today's launch by TfL will be another major boost to contactless usage leading to the threefold increase we expect in the next year."

Visa is keen on pushing out mobile payment technology, even going so far as to team up with Apple to enable iPhone 6 users to make payments using their smartphones.