Using Apple Pay on the Tube
 

I took the opportunity of a trip to/from Heathrow to check out how ApplePay worked.

Before I left I had to set it up on my iPhone 6. First the card on my iTunes account and then other supported cards - BA Amex and NatWest debit - in my case.

Took a couple of minutes but worked fine.

At the ticket line you have to hold the phone near (not on) the reader and then use your fingerprint to activate payment. This worked OK leaving Finsbury Park, failed on one reader at Heathrow, worked on another at Heathrow and then worked fine on the way home.

My tip - check which finger naturally comes forward when you hold the phone. I had to register my thumb as the 2nd finger is hard to manage whilst holding the phone.

Waiting for the payment to come through to make sure it charged me OK.

I'd be concerned about ensuring using the same card for all TFL transactions if I had more than one card in apple pay to make sure I benefited from the price caps

I've also used it, and I think there's a better way than the one you mention Markie. Before you reach the gateline open up your Passbook, tap the card you want to use; once you've done that the screen will read "'XYZ Card' is ready for Apple Pay". Put your thumb on the scanner, and after a second or two you should see that text disappear and be replaced with text that reads "Hold Near Reader to Pay". Once you've done this, your phone will basically act like any contactless card for one minute, you won't need to reauthenticate with your finger while you're on the gateline—now you can approach the gate and place the top of your phone on the reader like it was a contactless credit card and you're through. This should eliminate the sometimes-it-works-sometimes-not issue that you have when waiting for Apple Pay to pop up on its own.

Wouldn't it be much easier just to use a contactless card in the first place?

I'd also point out that I find it much easier to use Apple Pay with the Apple Watch for London transport than with the iPhone. The Apple Watch is already out, so it actually saves steps (to lhrsfo's point), and because authentication happens when you first put the watch on, presumably well before you need to use it for payments, all you have to do is double-press the side button then wave it on the reader-no passcodes or biometrics at the time of payment. I'm now using the watch for transport 100% of the time and it works a treat, no need to have a specific card out in advance or have my wallet out in a busy station.

Heaven help you should that messing around take place in front of me during the morning rush hour!

You're not going to be happy Swanhunter....

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/16/tfl-cautions-pitfalls-apple-pay

I'm not convinced of the need for any phone payment system. Soon, we'll just be inserting the chip in our hands and that will be the real "pay wave" coming in!!

I have used it as well for the last couple of days (both on the tube's readers as well as in some establishments such as Pret) and found it to be working generally ok. I do agree with has been said above in terms of the amount of time it actually takes to authenticate and for it to work as desired - indeed, a contactless card is way faster.

I would say it is good however to have it set up on your phone in case one day you want to leave the house without your wallet! (Hopefully making sure that your phone's battery is fully loaded and the place you need to pay for have Amex contactless readers :). Now thinking out loud....you are probably still limited to transactions with a value of up to £20, so that kind of limits the things you can do.

Apple Pay transactions that use CDCVM, which is a type of contactless transaction that basically "proves" the person paying is authorised to make the transaction, can be for any amount. It's only contactless transactions that don't use any verification (which is most contactless in the UK at the moment, unfortunately) that are subject to the £20 limit. It's worth noting as well that that amount will be rising to £30 in September—between that increase and CDCVM-supported pay terminals slowly trickling out, things will get better over time regarding larger contactless payments.

NFC phone payment is very useful for those of us who use public transit across multiple different public transport networks/countries which use NFC cards and find it more convenient to use the phone to juggle multiple cards' info than carry multiple NFC cards. Unfortunately, some systems which use NFC cards actually may require the NFC card be presented (in lieu of just the card info) at least when there is a spot check.

I'm glad the Tube is going the way of accepting phone NFC payments, even if there are some teething issues.

Has anyone tried with google wallet?

No phone is definitely faster for me with my pocket configuration

There was a lady on my commute yesterday who had her phone out ready to use it and then changed her mind. When I asked her on the way down to the platform why she'd not used it and she said she only had 5% battery left and a long trip to Upminster.

I saw a brilliant idea someone had done with their Oyster card but TFL do not approve of this. He'd taken the NFC Chip and antenna out of the Oyster card (Google it to find out how) and then fitted it to a bracelet. Just put his hand over the reader and it let him through.

I used it a second day with a trip where I had to tag multiple readers as I was using London Overground and arriving at LCY. I won't be using it again except in emergencies. The old Oyster is so much easier.

+1 I'm really struggling to see what the point of Apple Pay is. In a shop, or at a bar, it is no hassle to get my wallet out of my pocket and my card from my wallet.

If I'm travelling on the tube in Glasgow (or London), then my Bramble card (or Oyster card) will normally just be in a top pocket. It takes a second to get it out and tap. Far easier than fishing out my phone, faffing to get it the right way around, positioning a finger correctly, and then having it take longer to authorise.