Choose one card or device for your London pay-as-you-go journey and keep using it where you’re required to touch in and out. A bank card, the version of that card on a phone, and the version on a watch aren’t interchangeable at the reader.
Transport for London’s pay-as-you-go guidance explicitly warns against touching in with an iPhone and out with an Apple Watch or the physical contactless card. The shared bank account doesn’t make that a matched pair of touches.
Keep the payment choice consistent
Imagine entering a station with your phone, then reaching for the plastic card at the exit because it is easier to find. This is a planning example, not a reported journey. It illustrates the mix-up to avoid: complete the journey with the same device you started with.
TfL’s Conditions of Carriage, section 3.4.3, say that touching in with a phone and out with a watch or payment card results in two separate incomplete journeys.
Make the choice before reaching the gate. Keep the selected card accessible, or make sure you can use the chosen device for the whole journey. TfL also advises keeping contactless and Oyster cards away from the device or card you intend to present, to avoid card clash.
Touch in and out for the service you’re using
For pay-as-you-go Tube and rail journeys, follow the required touches at the beginning and end. London buses and trams work differently: touch in only. TfL’s published conditions distinguish these from services such as the River Bus, where touching out is also required. Don’t extend the bus rule to every service with “bus” in its name.
If you’re uncertain at a reader, ask staff or the bus driver. Don’t substitute a guess about which gate looks open for the payment process your journey requires.
Check three things before traveling
- Each traveler has a payment method. TfL says only one person at a time can use the same contactless card, device, or Oyster card for pay-as-you-go travel.
- The device can last the journey. TfL warns that insufficient battery can lead to a maximum fare or a penalty fare. A phone chosen for entry needs to remain usable.
- The card is suitable. TfL says many cards issued outside the UK work, but overseas charges or acceptance issues can apply. Check with your issuer.
Keep the payment choice with the rest of your arrival plan. The first unfamiliar station is an awkward place to discover that two people expected to use one card or that the chosen phone is nearly out of battery.
References
TfL’s pay-as-you-go guidance and Conditions of Carriage checked October 21, 2026. The conditions reviewed are dated September 24, 2026; this guide reflects that source check rather than a claim about an earlier fare schedule. The journey scenario is illustrative. Stock photographs show London transport and a transit card reader, not a Replicate the Magic journey.
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