MasterCard Offers Apple Pay Users Free Public Transit in London Starting Today

In an effort to increase adoption of contactless payments, major credit card issuer MasterCard has launched a limited time "Fare Free Mondays" promotion, offering free public transit to Apple Pay users in London on Mondays between November 23 and December 14, 2015.

MasterCard-Apple-Pay
Starting today, and on the next three Mondays, MasterCard customers using Apple Pay to touch in and out on London's public transit network will have up to £27.90 in daily fares refunded by MasterCard. The promotion is valid for travel on the Tube, buses, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.

Mark Barnett, president of MasterCard UK&I:

“The move by TfL last year to accept contactless cards and devices on London Underground has been a phenomenal catalyst to the growth in contactless payments across the UK. Now that Apple Pay has arrived we want to encourage travellers on London’s transport network to try it out and give them another convenient option to pay for their travel. What better way to do this, than to offer MasterCard customers using Apple Pay the chance to travel for free over the next four consecutive Mondays.”

MasterCard competitor Visa today also unveiled a new Apple Pay "Ready" campaign in Europe, including two TV ads from agency Saatchi & Saatchi that highlight how fast, easy and reliable using a Visa card in Apple Pay is in everyday situations such as paying to use the Tube or in a cafe.


Apple Pay expanded to the U.K. in July and is accepted at more than 250,000 locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The iPhone-based mobile payments service recently gained support for Tesco Bank and TSB in the country alongside over 90 new U.S. issuers.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iphone 17 pro majin bu sky blue

iPhone 17 Pro Allegedly Coming in Sky Blue Color Used for MacBook Air

Tuesday April 22, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro in a new Sky Blue color, the same color that debuted on the latest M4 MacBook Air models Apple released in March. That's according to the leaker Majin Bu. Concept mockup from Majin Bu Writing on his website, Bu claims that "sources close to the supply chain confirm that several iPhone 17 Pro prototypes have been made in various colors, with Sky Blue...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...

Top Rated Comments

SlipperySlop Avatar
123 months ago
Great. Even more people on my already packed northern line train on monday mornings.
I've come to expect huge numbers of negative and apple bashing posts for any given article. But I saw this article and wondered how anyone could possibly have anything negative to say about it. I was wrong.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DEMinSoCAL Avatar
123 months ago
Gimmick. And, since NFC is slower than Oyster, this is just going to cause unnecessary congestion.
Unnecessary for who? People are saving money. We recently visited London (from the US) recently, and after a few days, I was AMAZED how good the tube system is in London. I was also amazed by how rude Londoners were, with their dirty looks and pushing and shoving, because we weren't moving through the entry points fast enough for them. Then I thought, "Why is everyone in such a hurry when trains leave EVERY MINUTE OR TWO!!!!! Literally, if you miss a train, another one shows up in a minute. It's a great system! But people are rushing through like it's the end of the world or something.

It's ONE DAY a week. People save money. Relax.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
amirite Avatar
123 months ago
Nothing like that in US I'm aware of.
Decent public transit? Me neither.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
123 months ago
London only??? I'm going to link to this every time a Brit complains about being shut out of a MacRumors Giveaway. :D
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
123 months ago
Why the UK? When is it coming to the U.S.?
They're digging the tunnel for the London Tube under the Atlantic Ocean as we speak.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
123 months ago
Great. Even more people on my already packed northern line train on monday mornings.
Not sure you'll see much of an increase in ridership. How many people who wouldn't ride the train normally are going to go through the trouble of setting up their Apple Pay to take advantage of this for one day's free ride over three weeks?

Gimmick. And, since NFC is slower than Oyster, this is just going to cause unnecessary congestion.
It is a bit of a gimmick. But I think it's more about building awareness than anything else. And to that end I support it wholeheartedly. Getting people to start thinking about the benefits of contactless payment/Apple Pay and its other applications is a good thing, IMO.

It's been a few years since I rode the London transit system, so I confess that I don't know how many people use paper passes vs. cash vs. Oyster Card. But I know here in Denver, where we have NFC touchless readers on our buses and trains the biggest holdup is people who pay with ride coupons and cash. And I would love the opportunity to have my Eco Pass on my iPhone, so I don't have to fumble to pull my card out of my wallet.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)