The expansion of contactless payments on trains has caused the price of travelling on some services to soar as they now require more expensive peak time tickets. The change allows people to pay by tapping a bank card or contactless-enabled device on readers at stations, avoiding the need to manually purchase a ticket. But Rebecca Paul, Conservative MP for Reigate, said the new rules - introduced to 30 more stations in the South East on 14 December - risked "pricing passengers out of rail altogether".
Banks and card providers will be given the power, from March, to set a maximum - or unlimited - single payment amount without the need to enter a four-digit PIN. But they are also being encouraged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to allow cardholders to set their own individual limits, or switch off contactless entirely. Some banks already offer this function.
The method is as fast and easy to use as tap-to-pay on mobile devices, largely because it literally uses the exact same technology. The worst part? Thieves only need to be within arm's reach to steal personal financial information their victims did not even realize was exposed. Indeed, ghost tapping is the newest evolution of longstanding card scam fraud. And this technique pays. Within a recent three-month window, scammers in Singapore used this method to steal nearly a million dollars from victims.
New Yorkers can obtain a free OMNY card starting Tuesday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) gears up to replace the 30-year-old MetroCard system. The first 400 riders at each of the 16 customer service centers across the five boroughs who transfer their MetroCard balances to an OMNY card will receive the card without the usual fee, which ranges from $1 to $5.
The project represents a comprehensive overhaul of the existing Breeze infrastructure, introducing contactless ticketing, reloadable smartcards, and a new mobile app designed to simplify the user experience. According to INIT, the upgrade will equip the network with over 1,800 onboard and station validators, 275 next-generation ticket vending machines compliant with ADA standards, and more than 500 new faregates, nearly half of which are designed for barrier-free access.
I vividly remember the first time I used my phone to ride the New York City subway. I tapped my device against the translucent rectangle thing, the light turned green, and the turnstile made a familiar click inviting me to push through the metal arms. On the other side, the future beckoned. After a two-decade run as New York's preeminent pass to the subway, the MetroCard has officially joined the brass token in the annals of subway history.
You can get through most of London now without touching a coin. The bar, the bus, the cinema, even a takeaway from a late-night chicken shop, tap and go. Most people don't ask if cash is accepted anymore. They assume it isn't. Most of the time, they're right.
