UK: Essex to London commuter operator c2c has offered free contactless payment wristbands to selected passengers.
The bPay by Barclaycard wristbands contain a contactless chip which can be used to pay for travel within London and at certain other c2c stations, in the same way as a contactless bank card can be used. The wristbands are linked to a digital wallet, which is topped up using a Visa or Mastercard bank card registered to a UK address. bPay can also be used to pay for retail transactions of up to £30.
The 8 000 passengers selected to try the wristbands currently use weekly tickets or point-to-point season tickets within the area where Transport for London’s Oyster smart card is accepted. Contactless payment is scheduled to be rolled-out across the c2c network by 2017.
