Mastercard Offers Contactless Card Users Free Friday Tube Travel

Some of London’s commuters will have travelled for free this morning thanks to a special promotion by Mastercard to promote its contactless payment technology.

Throughout the whole of today, any traveller using their contactless Mastercard to pay for their journeys using London’s TfL network of tube, bus, DLR and tram services, as well as some selected National Rail trains, will have their cost of travel refunded in full.

To qualify, customers just have to use a contactless MasterCard to tap in at any time before 1am, with up to £21.80 worth of journeys being refunded directly to their bank account within 28 days.

Tap in

The promotion is part of Mastercard’s “Priceless London” campaign, and is set to be repeated on November 28 as the company looks to advertise its contactless capabilities.

The London Underground has proved to be a strong platform for publicising contactless payments. Last month, TfL revealed that over one million uses had been completed in just nine days, following the launch of contactless payments across the underground network.

Last month, Barclaycard announced it was teaming up with the Mayor of London to encourage commuters to donate to charity every time they use their contactless card for a journey. The Penny for London initiative allows travellers to donate a small amount whenever they tap in, with the money collected going to a range of designated charities.

Mastercard’s contactless cards allow users to make payments of up to £20 in a wide range of retailers across the UK and abroad. The company is looking to embrace a variety of new payment methods, including biometrics, in an attempt to make using its cards as safe as possible.

Yesterday, Mastercard also announced an update to its 3D Secure protocol, which utilises richer cardholder data, resulting in far fewer password interruptions at the point of sale.

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