SEPTA Rolling Out Apple Pay With Express Mode in Philadelphia Area

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) this week announced that it has started upgrading its payment readers with support for Apple Pay with Express Mode. This feature allows transit users to pay for their fare by tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch near the reader, without needing to unlock or wake the device.

SEPTA Apple Pay Express Mode
The upgrades began rolling out on Monday across select SEPTA Metro stations and buses in the Greater Philadelphia area, according to the announcement.

Express Mode for SEPTA is limited to credit and debit cards added to the Wallet app. It is still not possible to add the SEPTA Key fare card to the Wallet app, and Express Mode does not support SEPTA's discounted weekly or monthly passes.

More details can be found on the SEPTA website.

(Thanks, Stephen Klinck!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: Out Now!]

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Get iOS 26 Features With New Firmware Update

Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware. With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
apple n1 chip

Apple's New N1 Chip in iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Has a Wi-Fi 7 Limitation

Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation. According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
iPhone 17 Pro Air Boxes

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Boxes Revealed

Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday. Image Credit: Jon Freier Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...

Top Rated Comments

fireguy286 Avatar
15 months ago

Good on Septa. Long overdue. I had a Septa Key Card back a few years ago when I would travel into the city on regional rail on occasion and it was kinda a PITA.

Anymore, I drive into the city for my appointments. By the time I wait for the train, and make my way back the constraints on my schedule just don't fit the operational tempo of my current lifestyle.

However, I'm an admitted rail fan and will occasionally ride the trains here and there simply for the sake of doing so. I've ridden just about the entire regional rail and subway system. Haven't spent any time on the trolly system yet, but this is overdue.
You'll still need that Key Card for RR. This is bus and metro/subway only, NOT regional rail - and you can't even use the silly KEY Card as the debit card for Express.


Like most things SEPTA it's half baked and a decade late.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IIGS User Avatar
15 months ago

Excellent! One needs "express mode" to get out of Philly as fast as possible! ??
Maybe you heard, but.

We’re from Philly. Frickin’ Philly.

No one likes us, we don’t care.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GaryGnu Avatar
15 months ago

Maybe you heard, but.

We’re from Philly. Frickin’ Philly.

No one likes us, we don’t care.
Considering we claim we don't care, we certainly say it often enough.
Olney born and raised!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IIGS User Avatar
15 months ago
Good on Septa. Long overdue. I had a Septa Key Card back a few years ago when I would travel into the city on regional rail on occasion and it was kinda a PITA.

Anymore, I drive into the city for my appointments. By the time I wait for the train, and make my way back the constraints on my schedule just don't fit the operational tempo of my current lifestyle.

However, I'm an admitted rail fan and will occasionally ride the trains here and there simply for the sake of doing so. I've ridden just about the entire regional rail and subway system. Haven't spent any time on the trolly system yet, but this is overdue.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)