Apple Pay for Transit: Now Accepted in Singapore, NYC Testing Soon, Chicago and Portland to Integrate Fare Cards

Apple Pay is launching or gaining expanded functionality at transit systems in additional cities throughout 2019, starting with Singapore today followed by Chicago, Portland, and New York City later this year.

apple pay transit card
‌Apple Pay‌ is now accepted on all forms of public transit that accept Mastercard credit and debit cards in Singapore, including buses and trains, enabling convenient tap-to-pay functionality with an iPhone or Apple Watch. Singapore's transit agency expects to add support for Visa cards in the second half of 2019.

New York City will pilot ‌Apple Pay‌ on a couple of lines this spring and then roll out the functionality to additional lines throughout the rest of the year, according to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino. The MTA appears to already be in the process of installing contactless card readers at turnstiles, with a test phase "coming soon."


Chicago's and Portland's transit systems already accept ‌Apple Pay‌, but CTA and TriMet riders will be able to add their preloaded Ventra and Hop fare cards to the Wallet app later this year and take advantage of pre-tax commuter benefits, according to the Chicago Tribune and the Willamette Week.

The payment process is similar to using ‌Apple Pay‌ in stores. Depending on the ‌iPhone‌, that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID or Face ID, and holding the ‌iPhone‌ near the card reader. Apple Watch payments are also activated by double-pressing the side button.

The blog Ata Distance suggests that Ventra and Hop cards will support Express Transit, meaning that riders won't need to authenticate with ‌Face ID‌, ‌Touch ID‌, or a passcode, and won't need to wake or unlock their device, to pay. Express Transit is currently limited to transit systems in China and Japan.

Singapore and New York City would join a handful of cities with transit systems that already support ‌Apple Pay‌, including Chicago and Portland as mentioned, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Tokyo, Moscow, and Vancouver, Canada.

(Thanks, Chris!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...

Top Rated Comments

zorinlynx Avatar
79 months ago
"that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/touch-id/') or Face ID, and holding the iPhone near the card reader."

This takes too long. I know it seems fast, but I've been in NYC and ridden the subway quite a few times and it's a constant flow of people through the turnstiles, each person swiping their card through as they're walking.

If there's any kind of delay, like having to satisfy FaceID or wait for TouchID, it's going to slow things down and people will get pissed. Nevermind that TouchID doesn't work with gloves on and NYC has winter, and FaceID doesn't always read correctly.

If I were a New Yorker I wouldn't bother with using my phone and just get the Contactless MetroCard equivalent they're no doubt going to offer.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
79 months ago
"that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/touch-id/') or Face ID, and holding the iPhone near the card reader."

This takes too long. I know it seems fast, but I've been in NYC and ridden the subway quite a few times and it's a constant flow of people through the turnstiles, each person swiping their card through as they're walking.

If there's any kind of delay, like having to satisfy FaceID or wait for TouchID, it's going to slow things down and people will get pissed. Nevermind that TouchID doesn't work with gloves on and NYC has winter, and FaceID doesn't always read correctly.

If I were a New Yorker I wouldn't bother with using my phone and just get the Contactless MetroCard equivalent they're no doubt going to offer.
you're overthinking it - almost every day there is some dumbass blocking a turnstile while trying to locate his/her metrocard. they will just be replaced by the dumbasses who fail to unlock their phone prior to reaching the turnstile.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kybldmstr Avatar
79 months ago
I would hope you wouldn't need to authenticate to get it to work. Would be alot easier if you just hold phone to reader, phone realizes it's a subway terminal and loads that specific card, and boom you're in. I could see alot of people fumbling around getting the right pass up on their phones, standing there authenticating with FaceID, then scanning, and causing a backup. IMO the ticket wouldn't really need to be secured behind FaceID and should pop up automatically when presented at a subway terminal.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AdonisSMU Avatar
79 months ago
"that means double-pressing the home button or side button, authenticating with Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/touch-id/') or Face ID, and holding the iPhone near the card reader."

This takes too long. I know it seems fast, but I've been in NYC and ridden the subway quite a few times and it's a constant flow of people through the turnstiles, each person swiping their card through as they're walking.

If there's any kind of delay, like having to satisfy FaceID or wait for TouchID, it's going to slow things down and people will get pissed. Nevermind that TouchID doesn't work with gloves on and NYC has winter, and FaceID doesn't always read correctly.

If I were a New Yorker I wouldn't bother with using my phone and just get the Contactless MetroCard equivalent they're no doubt going to offer.
You could prepare it as you are walking up like before you get there. Then just hold it up there.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haruhiko Avatar
79 months ago
You have a minute leeway from activating Apple Pay until it times out; so, by rights, no one should be fumbling around at the point of touching in/out to ride transit.

Samsung Pay have the option to set up a ‘transport card’ without the need to use biometric authorisation so I hope, in time, Apple follow suit.
Apple doesn't need to follow suit. It already has Apple Pay Transit Card feature in China and Japan long time ago.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4254126 Avatar
79 months ago
London really needs Oyster card integration in Apple Wallet (for season passes).
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)