Different form of payment for 2 persons on tube system?

[padgman1]

We will be using the tube to get from Heathrow to Piccadilly Circus station. Can we use the SAME contactless credit card for both persons or do we need to use 2 different contactless payment options, say a card and Apple Wallet?

[9265359]

Each person will need to use a different card - there is no mechanism for two people to use the same card, other than buying paper tickets which I really don't recommend as they are a lot more expensive.

 

Theoretically you can use a card and the same card on Apple Wallet as the card in Apple Wallet has a different card number so the system see them as different cards - that's one of the reasons why you can't tap in with a card and out with your phone, as you would end up with two incomplete journeys.

 

If you do intend to use Apple Wallet on the tube then do set the card up for express travel (in the Wallet setting on the phone) as you then don't have to authenticate it when you tap in or out - don't worry it is safe as it is only for certain heavily regulated travel operators that it works like that and every other purchase needs authentication.

 

However, realistically I would just get another card (an additional card holder card is absolutely fine) or just get an Oyster card for the other person.

[padgman1]

Thanks

[kflietst]

We just returned from London and used 2 cards that were attached to the same account number. I think they just want to speed up entry by having each individual place their own card on the scanner and proceed through the turn style.

[fruitmachine]

34 minutes ago, kflietst said:

I think they just want to speed up entry by having each individual place their own card on the scanner and proceed through the turn style.

The reason is because of automated capping - you get charged a maximum if you travel lots of times in a single day (or week).  To calculate that, you must have one card per person.

[Thejuggler]

3 hours ago, kflietst said:

We just returned from London and used 2 cards that were attached to the same account number. I think they just want to speed up entry by having each individual place their own card on the scanner and proceed through the turn style.

Not at all.  Its so the amount spent on each card can be calculated as once a maximum daily amount is reached every subsequent trip is free.

[Globaliser]

4 hours ago, kflietst said:

I think they just want to speed up entry by having each individual place their own card on the scanner and proceed through the turn style.

 

No, for a more basic reason than fare capping. It is basically impossible to charge properly for any journey unless a card that is logged as having entered "in" to the system is logged "out" before it is logged "in" again. If two people travel at the same time using a single card, that simply can't happen. And impossible situations arise if the two people travel on different journeys, which is a possible outcome unless and until both people have touched "out".

 

If TfL was really interested in speeding up entry, it would ban phone payments.

[SSAtlantic]

So if DH and I are together, we cannot both use a joint card? 

[9265359]

10 hours ago, Globaliser said:

If TfL was really interested in speeding up entry, it would ban phone payments.

 

Phone payments are fine if the person has turned on 'Express travel' for that card so it doesn't need authorisation, then it is as quick as using a normal card.

 

34 minutes ago, SSAtlantic said:

So if DH and I are together, we cannot both use a joint card? 

 

Correct - one card per person.

[Globaliser]

2 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

Phone payments are fine if the person has turned on 'Express travel' for that card so it doesn't need authorisation, then it is as quick as using a normal card.

 

From non-expert observation, if someone does this and knows how to use their phone, then I think it's actually faster than using a contactless bank card, and is about as fast as a pay-as-you-go Oyster.

 

But it's a big "if". The problems come from (a) the people who don't, and who then occupy a gate for 5, 10, 20 or more seconds franctically swiping their phone screen trying to get the correct card up and active before they then reorientate their phone to try to get the reader to read it; and (b) the people who don't know where on the phone the NFC chip is so they are twisting and turning their phones to try to get the reader to read it.

[markeb]

3 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

So if DH and I are together, we cannot both use a joint card? 

 

What to you mean by joint card? 

 

You can't both physically touch the same card. You can each use your own card on the same account; those are "different" cards with their own unique identification. Most now have separate card numbers as well. Even if they're on the same statement, the reader sees them as different cards.

 

So yes, you can each use your own card on your joint credit card account. You can't both use the same physical card.

 

3 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

Correct - one card per person.

 

If they mean the same card account, as long as they each have their own physical card they should be fine.