Oyster wave-and-pay trial is successful

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A trial testing the technology behind a combined payment and Oyster travel card has been successful, according to the Transport for London (TfL).

Last year, IT PRO reported that Barclaycard, Visa Europe and TfL were teaming up to combine the cards into one pay-as-you-go card. Earlier this year, a cab company showed how the system could be used to pay fares.

Payments over £10 will still require a PIN, but any item under that amount can be bought by waving the card over a terminal.

"The new card will give passengers the ability to pay for low cost goods and take advantage of Oyster fares on the same card reducing the need to carry cash," said Shashi Verma, director of Oyster card at TfL, in a statement.

The partnership is the first third-party licensing of the Oyster pay-as-you-go cards, which is provided by TranSys. Some 10 million Oyster cards have been issued since their launch.

The system, which is expected to be launched to customers later this year, has been trialled by 60 Barclaycard employees since December. The 60 testers have been paying for purchases at a coffee shop in the Northampton head office using a contactless terminal and have also used the combined cards 2,500 times for travel on the TfL network in London.

The trial found no technological problems with the system, the partnership said.

"The technical trial has been a great success with many employees commenting on how easy and simple the cards are to use," said Stewart Holmes, contactless project manager at Barclaycard said in a statement.

The trial has been extended, allowing employees at Barclay's head office in Canary Wharf to buy their morning coffee using contactless terminals at shops in the area.

By the end of the year, the trial will include a total of 2000 cards issued to TranSys, TfL and Visa employees.

Visa and MasterCard also announced today that they will be rolling out contactless payment systems in London in September.

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