# TfL Oyster and contactless

> Manage London Oyster and contactless travel cards for public transport. (iPhone/iPad app by Transport Trading Ltd..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tfl-oyster-and-contactless/id1179420088 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Transport Trading Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/974792286)
- Category: Travel, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.39/5 from 325 App Store ratings · 71 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 10.0 · 22 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2017-09-06
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tfl-oyster-and-contactless/id1179420088/reviews.md

## What is TfL Oyster and contactless?

Manage your adult Oyster and contactless cards on the move with the app.

• Top up pay as you go credit 
• Buy adult rate 7 Day, Monthly and Annual Travelcards, and Bus & Tram Passes
• View your Oyster card and contactless journey history
• Check contactless payments
• Check your pay as you go balance and see season tickets
• Check if you have any incomplete journeys
• Allow notifications when your pay as you go balance falls below a certain amount, or your Travelcard is about to expire

When you top up your credit or buy a Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass, it will be available to collect after 30 minutes when you touch your Oyster card on a yellow card reader as part of a journey on any London bus, or at any Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail or National Rail station within the pay as you go area, tram stop or River Bus pier.
 
Keeping on top of your spend is easy; see the date, time and cost of your journeys from the last 8 weeks.
 
The TfL Oyster and contactless app will request access to your camera. This is so that you can scan your payment card. We will never store the scanned pictures. Alternatively you can enter the card details manually.
 
You can’t currently add Oyster photocards to this app.
You can’t currently buy discounted tickets through the app.
 
For security reasons the TfL Oyster and contactless app is not supported on jailbroken devices.

## Key features

- Top up pay as you go credit
- Buy adult rate Travelcards and Bus & Tram Passes
- View Oyster card and contactless journey history
- Check contactless payments
- Check pay as you go balance and season tickets
- Receive balance and expiry notifications

## What do users think of TfL Oyster and contactless?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Quick and easy top-up process
- 👁️ Simple balance checking functionality
- 💳 Convenient card management without station visits
- 📊 Travel history tracking for budgeting
- 🎯 Straightforward user interface for basic tasks

**Cons**

- 🐛 Constant random logouts requiring re-authentication
- 🐛 Frequent glitches and app crashes
- ⏱️ Delayed balance updates (24-48 hours behind)
- 🔒 Password paste functionality disabled reducing security
- ❌ Non-functional features (map, journey history often blank)
- 🚫 Geographic restrictions blocking non-UK residents
- 💳 Only accepts UK credit cards and addresses
- ⚠️ Payment processing failures requiring multiple attempts
- 📱 Poor optimization for newer iPhone models (notch issues)
- 🔐 Excessive password requirements and security questions
- 🚷 Incompatible with visitor cards and student photo cards
- ⏳ 30-minute delays before top-up credits become usable
- 🔄 Inconsistent data between app and website
- ❌ No Apple Pay or digital wallet integration
- 🎨 Inaccessible to visually impaired users (no VoiceOver support)

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Random logout occurring at inconvenient times
- Password autofill not working with iOS Keychain
- Paste functionality disabled in password fields
- Journey history showing as blank despite active transactions
- Balance display 24-48 hours out of sync
- Payment processing failures requiring 3-4 attempts
- No confirmation shown after successful payment
- Amex authentication window rendering offscreen
- App treating mobile devices as desktop browsers
- Messages not dated causing confusion about relevance
- Incomplete journey notifications not appearing in app
- Text obscured by notch on iPhone 12+
- Slow card swiping performance (laggy interface)
- Account creation failing with cryptic error messages
- Two-factor authentication code autofill not working
- Duplicate charges appearing on card
- Negative balance errors after top-up
- App crashing on certain device configurations
- Login errors with 'permission denied' messages
- Card addition requiring multiple attempts before success

**Most requested features**

- Apple Wallet/Apple Pay integration for contactless payments
- Google Wallet support for digital card storage
- Journey planner integrated into app
- Railcard linking functionality
- Touch and go payment directly from app
- Payment card management (add/remove/update cards)
- Instant top-up processing without delays
- Biometric login (Face ID/Touch ID) support
- Support for visitor and student photo cards
- Ability to set default payment card
- iPad support and better device optimization
- Accessibility features for visually impaired users
- Support for non-UK credit cards and addresses
- Refund request functionality within app
- Better password autofill and paste support
- Dated messages for transaction history
- Ability to reorder cards in app display
- In-app incomplete journey resolution
- Real-time balance updates
- Account access from outside UK

## Recent user reviews (10 of 71)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tfl-oyster-and-contactless/id1179420088/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Doesn’t function properly

*2024-12-28*

The app is so badly run. It’s constantly glitching or days behind updating so you often go to check your balance and it’s not updated from hours or sometimes days ago, meaning your balance is incorrect. Also so unbelievably annoying that you can’t purchase an oyster using the oyster app. It doesn’t let you connect it to your railcard either and it makes you go to a station to do that but when you go to the stations they all have no clue what you’re talking about unless you go to Euston. And finally the top up action on the app doesn’t work!!! Also the view full history section doesn’t actually show your full history which is very annoying and stops me being able to show work or even check how much it costs me. Sorry for the rant but it bothers me so much that nothing on the app works! Whoever designed this app really needs to work on a lot of the glitches and iron out some of the issues I mentioned

### 2/5 — Useless card

*2024-06-05*

I  have to say it’s useless in many ways  of ways especially considering it’s TFL AND ITS SERVICES, first the scan for the card doesn’t work (useless) second I toped up the 1,75 that I used the bus and didn’t have enough money and on the app says I still own 1,75 (but it shows my 1 month travel card) and says that I missed a touch in Manor House and that is not true… what a joke of an app and what a joke this TFL is.
In any opportunity they want to ROB someone’s money, just like the other day I thought I had lost my oyster/travel card and I bought a new one zone 1/2 for a week then I found my old one (I thought I was going to get 43 pound back NO 😂😂 the lines were close so I could contact TFL, but since I haven’t used the travel card I thought I would get my money, I was COMPLETELY WRONG l, as I checking on line I would have to pay 5 ADMIN FEE plus the 7 pounds making it 12, next day when I called them up from my 50 pounds they wanted to give me ONLY 20 they said even if I didn’t use it counts as if I had used it..: if that is not a robbery I don’t know what is that the costumer service they are all rude and useless only looking to help TFL to get our money, sorry not get literally ROB our money.

Before they closed the actual offices they used to deal with that in a better way, now FORGET ABOUT IT .

### 3/5 — Good but could be better

*2024-06-01*

Like being able to view Oyster payments as it allows me to keep tabs on my travel budget easily. But not being able to use Apple Pay? Odd and v out of date. And why does the app log me out randomly then not allow me to access my saved passwords directly when I try to log in? All other apps I have allow me to view them (via biometric login), but for this one I have to click out, go into phone settings, find passwords, remember the very long scramble of letters and numbers etc that are saved there, go back to the oyster app and type it in. It won’t allow me to paste!!! A complete pain in the bum that could be easily sorted out. And don’t suggest I use my bank card. There are good reasons to keep my travel separate, primarily for budgeting purposes that the bank card system doesn’t allow me to see.

### 1/5 — Comically bad

*2024-05-22*

The worst app I unfortunately have to use regularly. It actively reduces security. It’s not really a native app at all: just takes you to in-app browsers without any viewport adjustment meaning that mobile devices are treated like widescreen desktop browsers, so UI elements are frequently inaccessible. Preventing paste in the password field results in poorer security because it bars the use of password managers and leads to the use of easily memorable and therefore weak passwords. The card authentication window for Amex renders offscreen, making it impossible to perform multi factor authentication. The usability is pitiful. Payments are frequently dropped so on average it takes three or four attempts to process a payment. Even when payments are made there is no confirmation shown and not even a UI element allowing users to leave the screen so you have to force quit the application to review the balance and confirm if the payment has been successful. Messages are not dated so a message indicating low balance or a pending top up persist without any information about what event they pertain to, and there is no hint for how to dismiss ancient and irrelevant messages.

### 3/5 — Ok but could use some improvements

*2024-01-17*

Like that I can top up my Oyster card and check balance without needing to touch the machines at the station or have to get there early to factor in the time to do this or a queue. Logging in is a bit hit and miss with Face ID and saved password, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I dislike that you have to enter your card details and it doesn’t just connect with Apple Pay to top up your card. What would be great is if you could add your Oyster card to your wallet and use that too via watch or phone. You also can’t remove your payment card details from the app which seems odd that you don’t have control of your own data. But it seems TfL aren’t interested in these obvious and basic improvements. Finally would be useful to be able to apple for refunds and such via the app like when you log in online to your oyster account.

### 5/5 — Great app but improvements can be made

*2023-12-17*

I have been using this app now for roughly 3.5 years and found it incredibly useful. It is simple to use. If there are improvements that can be made they are: 1. Debit/credit card management is not available on the app. Expired cards cannot be removed and there is no choice to remove cards you no longer wish to use. 2. To make the app more interactive it would be very helpful if the touch and go facility is added so that travelcards or pay-as-you-go credits can be used directly from the app instead of using contactless cards or an actual travelcard. Would have thought that this would have been the way to go in the development of the app but the app has stood still from its original launch bar the removal of bugs.

### 2/5 — Randomly logs you out, can’t autofill password

*2023-11-23*

The app itself is pretty simple but useful for letting you check your Oyster balance and top up your card. 

However usually when you go to use it it’s because you’re about to make a journey and want to have a quick way of doing the above. When you open the app however you see yet again it’s randomly logged you out and you need to log back in. You click sign in and go to populate the fields with your stored passwords but can’t because the autofill feature from iOS doesn’t work in the app. So you have to go to settings on your phone then passwords then scroll down to tfl then tap on your password then copy it. You go back to the app, click on the password field and go to paste the password in but guess what! That doesn’t work either. So now you have to go back to settings, reveal your password and flick between that and the app typing the password in manually. By which time you could have walked ten minutes to your nearest tube machine and checked your Oyster card balance on a machine 😩😩😩

### 2/5 — Useful but takes patience

*2023-10-13*

This app is useful for topping up and checking oyster balance, fares and daily capping over TfL’s clunky website.

But this app takes patience to use. In general the app seems glitchy and poorly written, very laggy to swipe between cards on the screen is one example. It logs out very frequently, and isn’t properly coded to work with iCloud Keychain - so you have to manually type in the password. The autofilling of 2FA codes also does not work, so these have to be manually typed in. The app seems to log out at completely random intervals - seemingly also exactly when you want to top up in a hurry.

The app is also limited, you cannot all of the tasks you can complete on the website. It seems to frequently show ‘incomplete journey’, yet won’t allow you to correct the journey without contacting customer services. The app will also not allow you to type in a new credit or debit card to top-up with, this has to be done on the TfL website.

Overall, the app is useful, but so poorly written it is frustrating to use. It needs to be drastically improved. Better integration with Apple’s well designed system integrations such as iCloud Keychain and autofill for logging in, and Apple Pay to pay for top-ups would make a massive difference to the user experience.

### 3/5 — Apple Wallet support

*2023-07-02*

If you aren’t working with them already, could you please work with Apple to get a digital version of the Oyster Card on Apple Wallet? I would happily just use my contactless card but buying a yearly season ticket is a lot cheaper overall than the daily/ weekly capping so need to carry an Oyster card around too. I’d happily just use Apple Pay than need to my card and risk losing it.

Think about how much you could save on producing new cards if more people were encouraged to go to just use what they have already. That’d be a lot less wasted plastic and would reduce loss or theft of the cards too. There are multiple cities around the world that do this so it’s not impossible and Google Wallet offers the feature too so everyone has chance to use it. Please get on this TfL.

### 2/5 — Good idea but needs lots of fixes

*2023-02-01*

I downloaded this app in the hope that I could get my head more around TfL’s mind-boggling payment system and actually budget my travel outgoings to a degree. It’s a great idea for an app and it could easily be brilliant - but like so many other government/public sector apps: it doesn’t compete remotely in the same league as its private sector counterparts. It glitches a lot, I can’t see my payment history 50% of the time, it’s an incredibly limited app because there’s not a journey planner and you can’t link your railcard with your oyster card or debit card. If these things were fixed - this app would be brilliant and genuinely helpful. Unfortunately, I can’t work out whether it’s rubbish because TfL doesn’t think putting time into these kinds of resources is actually important and helpful to people; or whether it’s because they know they’ll ultimately make more money if they actually don’t help people inform travel choices on the underground - and make apps like this as a thinly veiled attempt at making themselves seem concerned with people’s efficiency of life. The app has great potential but needs the execution. Please improve it - it could be brilliant.

## Frequently asked questions about TfL Oyster and contactless

### What can I do with the TfL Oyster and contactless app?

The app allows you to manage your adult Oyster and contactless cards for London's public transport. You can top up pay as you go credit, buy various types of travelcards and bus passes, view your journey history, and check your balance. It also provides notifications for low balances or expiring passes.

### How do I collect my top-up or travelcard purchase?

After topping up credit or buying a travelcard/bus pass, it will be available to collect after 30 minutes. You need to touch your Oyster card on a yellow card reader as part of a journey on any London bus, or at any Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail, or National Rail station within the pay as you go area, tram stop, or River Bus pier.

### Is the app free to use?

Yes, the TfL Oyster and contactless app is free to download and use. There are no in-app purchases or subscription fees required to manage your Oyster and contactless cards.

### What devices is the app compatible with?

The app is designed for managing your Oyster and contactless cards. For security reasons, it is not supported on jailbroken devices. You can also scan your payment card using your device's camera, or enter the details manually.

### Can I use this app for discounted tickets or photocards?

Currently, you cannot add Oyster photocards to this app, nor can you buy discounted tickets through the app. The app is primarily for managing adult rate travelcards and pay as you go credit for standard Oyster and contactless payments.

## Version history (last 1 release)

### 1.3.10 — 2022-03-18

We’ve made bug fixes to make the app easier to navigate

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All apps by Transport Trading Ltd.: https://appshunter.io/developer/974792286

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*