A ? about Tap and Pay transport charges

It depends on the exchange rate when you bought your Oyster Card.

The card I use through Google Pay has no fees at all. I have been charged pretty much the going rate.

Does your card apply a Foreign Transaction Fee for each use? Better to have one with no FTF’s at all.

I believe one of our UK posters told us there will be just one, aggregate daily charge to the credit card. Still, if your credit card assesses a flat fee per transaction, you will pay that seven times during a one-week trip.

I don't believe that tap and pay with a personal credit card is available in Paris. The Navigo card is still used. You can use that on a smartphone.

Let me know if that has changed recently!!

I believe one of our UK posters told us there will be just one, aggregate daily charge to the credit card.

correct - in London

I did a lot of tapping in London in the spring on the London Metro. None of my CCs assessed a fee. Have no idea what the exchange rate was for each day. The convenience of just being able to tap was worth any concern to me over a few cents.

OP is Canadian, and most Canadian debit cards have a per use transaction fee if used internationally. So not a good idea to use those for tap and go. But Credit cards (usually) dont have a transaction fee, just the usually foreign exchange which can change multiple times daily. So the sum total difference between 2 £2 pound credit card transactions should be different from 1 £4 transaction by only a couple of pence, if any. I haven't heard that Paris metro had allowed tap and go.

Thanks everyone.
My cc has fees.
I don’t have an Apple Watch or Iphone.
Android here.
I’ll stick to the transit passes like Oyster, as with getting a cc or debit card out each time to use it, my chances of losing it would keep increasing!
I’ve got the perfect zip pocket very high up right on the front of my winter jacket where I keep whatever pass I’m using at the time.
(Traveling in December.)

Android phones usually have Google Pay. I'm not sure I've ever used it successfully; I may have tried only once. A few days ago I needed to buy a Polish train ticket. The website intercity.pl didn't like my Priority 1 and Priority 2 credit cards, so I tried Google Pay with one of those cards, which didn't work. I guess Google Pay is subject to the same verification procedures the merchant imposes on regular credit card transactions. (Luckily, one of our other posters had mentioned using his CapitalOne card, and that one worked for me.)

I have Google Pay on both my phone and watch. While the phone is never a problem, the watch is moody. Most problems with the watch seem to be on buses. So I use the phone.

Not all credit card providers allow their use on Google Pay. When you try to add a card to Google Pay, it will tell you if the card is accepted.

Do you have NFC turned on on your phone? Google Pay won't work if it's off.

Apparently not. I'll have to explore that. I don't know where it is; I've certainly never turned it on

Thanks for educating me.

I have used Google Pay all over Europe, which makes sense, Android phones are much more common in Europe than Apple, with the exception of the UK.

Basically if a terminal has "Tap" it will accept any NFC method (Card, phone, watch). One difference between Apple and Android though, is Apple, being a single brand, has all phones NFC capable, for Android, the capability may or may not be there depending on brand and model. Of course, after that, you need to set up cards, and of course turn it on.

Cards on NFC see the same acceptability and restrictions as the card, so Discover will still not work in Europe on NFC, and if your card does not accept third party NFC transactions, then it will not work. (With both Apple and Google, you are adding another middle man in the payment process, free to you, but they make money somehow along the way).

One more thing: You do not need cell service in order to use Tap, the transaction will record, the terminal will process the transaction, however, it is wise to log into WiFi daily to allow your phone records to update.

Apparently not. I'll have to explore that. I don't know where it is;...

It's pretty simple. If you happen to have a Samsung go to settings > connections (where you'd find wi-fi, Bluetooth, etc.) then toggle on NFC.

On other Andriods open settings then open the settings search bar and type NFC into the search bar, that will bring it up. Turn NFC on.

Ok……..now I need to know what NFC is?!

If you are tapping with your phone or watch, don’t you need a connection or data to make it work?
How would it work if you are only using wifi , not an active SIM card when you travel?
Some people do only that.

Near Field Communication (NFC), it allows the transfer of data between devices in close proximity. Think something like your contactless card.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-nfc/

Thanks, VAP, I actually stumbled on that setting earlier today when I was setting up my new eSIM. Not knowing what it meant, I hadn't paid attention to it before. It will be interesting to see whether it works now,