London Underground & Android Pay

20aday

I've used Apple Pay on the Tube several times since the service launched.

Normally it's easier for me to use my Watch over my iPhone but that wasn't the case yesterday.

Came to touch out at King's Cross St. Pancras and had an error message on my phone. Not ideal as I'd a fair few people behind me!

Managed to perform a soft reset and escape but whilst it's a great feature I'm just glad it didn't happen during rush hour...

harrys_dad

20aday wrote: »

Normally it's easier for me to use my Watch over my iPhone

I assume you use your Oyster card to tell the time or contact people.

Gravedigger

t0rt0ise wrote: »

If the battery fails just explain to an Assistant on the gate line and they will most likely just let you through and not expect you to rack up two incomplete journeys by using another card to get out. You will also be advised to contact the help line either by phone or via internet.

But you haven't tapped out and will still incur a charge for an incomplete journey.

wealdroam

Gravedigger wrote: »

But you haven't tapped out and will still incur a charge for an incomplete journey.

Hence the last sentence of t0rt0ise's post.

Gravedigger

Sorry WR. You manage to get a refund and tell them your phone died my rear end and Woolworths comes to mind. In fact there are some who might issue a penalty fare. It, the tap in by phone and contactless, is a nightmare when things go wrong.
Having said that it might be interesting to see if a court will recognise a phone as a ticket in view of the fact you must have a valid ticket to travel.

jon81uk

ic wrote: »

That's because Android Pay registers a new card number with your bank, and shares that. The retailer sees them as a different card and has no way to tally them up.

https://www.android.com/intl/en_uk/pay/

I would assume this is so that if you lose your phone, your cards can be cancelled on Android Pay without having to reissue the physical cards in your wallet too.

Apple Pay does exactly the same thing, the transaction goes through with a unique number that isn't your bank card number.

You need to treat a phone and a card as two separate things, they are not interchangeable.

jon81uk

Gravedigger wrote: »

Having said that it might be interesting to see if a court will recognise a phone as a ticket in view of the fact you must have a valid ticket to travel.

TfL conditions of carriage have been amended to state you need a valid ticket or to pay as you go using an valid payment method, including contactless cards. and then in the specific contactless guidance it states "If using a mobile phone or other contactless device, you must have sufficient battery [charge] to complete your journey."

So yes a contactless payment is OK for travel, but you still need to be able to show it to an inspector. Then at night the system checks the inspection log against the touch in/out log and charges a penalty if the inspector sees you and you didn't touch in.

"4.2 You must present your contactless payment card for inspection when asked to do so by authorised staff. By touching your card on the portable card reader, you are confirming that it is the card you intend to travel with and that you consent to the fare being charged to your card account.
4.3 If you are found not to have touched in at the start of your journey or if your mobile phone or contactless device has run out of battery and cannot be read, you may be charged a maximum fare or you may be given a penalty fare or you may be prosecuted."

So if worried about flat batteries, using an actual card will be better :-)

zappomatic

I don't get how it's safer. If someone knocks my card out of my hand no biggie, but if they knock my phone out of my hand it's going to hit the floor and possibly get damaged!

Also the delays people touching in or out using a phone cause at the ticket barriers are frustrating.