Transport for London has emailed customers to announce the activation of NFC contactless payments on the city's fleet of 8,500 buses, despite any hiccups on the tube. From today, anyone who swipes a debit, credit, or charge card with the logo shown after the break should theoretically be allowed onboard for the same single fare as a traditional Oyster Card user. That's £1.35 instead of the £2.30 cash fare. The logo can also be found on Orange's Quick Tap-enabled Galaxy S III, but the official email makes no explicit mention of any smartphones being compatible. If you have the guts to swipe your GS III over the reader and test it, please let us know if it works (and it's probably better to try it discreetly, in case it doesn't). Customers are also being advised to avoid swiping wallets which contain two potential payment methods -- such as an NFC card and an RFID-based Oyster Card -- so they can control which card gets billed.
[Source: Engadget]