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

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

SlipperySlop Avatar
131 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
131 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
131 months ago
Nothing like that in US I'm aware of.
Decent public transit? Me neither.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
131 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
131 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
131 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)