Apple Pay and London Transportation.

have you read the tfl notes regarding Apple Pay?

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/other-methods-of-contactless-payment/apple-pay

info about overseas transaction fees here https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/what-are-contactless-payment-cards#on-this-page-1

I've been reading a little more. This helps answer the question:

The main reasons why visitors do not use contactless payment are:

• If you are from overseas your fares will converted from pounds sterling to your local currency daily by your provider, often with significant foreign exchange charges.

• Each person needs their own contactless supported credit/debit card or mobile phone account, you cannot share.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard_oyster_but_which.htm

Here's what AMEX says:
No Foreign Transaction Fees
American Express will not charge any foreign transaction fee on the purchases you make outside of the United States with your Card. However, there may be circumstances where ATMs or merchants charge a fee on foreign transactions.

I've used Apple Pay successfully via my Iphone 6 on the London Metro. Already used it frequently for purchases in the US and didn't need to do anything special to set it up for use in London. The card it's linked to doesn't have FT fees so that's not an issue for me. It worked as advertised but compared to the Oyster card it's not as convenient. To use Apple Pay you have to dig out your phone and authorize the phone with you fingerprint or Pin before going through the turnstile, which can be a hassle in a busy, crowded station. With the Oyster you simply keep it in your wallet or a side pocket of your purse and wave it in front of the reader; no need to take it out. So I still prefer the Oyster card in the end.

Thanks Michael. That's just the kind of information I was looking for.

You're welcome, I should add that Apple Pay is very convenient for making purchases at lots of brick & mortar stores throughout the city. It has a higher acceptance rate in the UK than the US. My last trip to London I barley used any cash, phone purchases 90% of the time I'd estimate.

Slightly off topic but what about Apple Pay and London's black cabs? Do the payment terminals in the taxi generally work or is it more likely that they don't work?

Thanks.

I like using Apple Pay for small purchases in the UK, but I don't use it on public transit. I already have an Oyster card and i find it is easier to top it up. It is easier to use the Oyster card since you need to both tap in and tap out on the tube. Apple pay is a bit slower than using an Oyster, which might make a difference at a very busy tube station.

Mobile payment should be around the same length of time as contactless cards, which do take a little (but not that much) time over an Oyster. The main difficulty with Apple Pay are the devices which need a finger on 'Touch ID etc' for the authorisation step. Using an Apple watch is much easier, as is Android Pay and Samsung Pay as the dexterity is less and much more like just using a card, just needing to wake the device up.

I registered my card for my upcoming trip. My dilemma is that I have 3 teenagers going. They all have iphones and I can put 3 different cards on their phones. They just won't have cell service. Does apple pay work without cell or data service? I called apple pay and they were unsure but it does work in airplane mode is what they informed me. Has anyone tried it?

You don't need data access on the phone at the transaction point. The phone passes over the virtual card details to the terminal via NFC, which then sends it to the processing centre over its own data connection. What you won't get are transaction confirmations.