American Express Continues to Expand Acceptance for Tap-and-Pay at Public Transit Systems Around the World

With international travel rising and many workforces resuming a commuting schedule, cities worldwide have been investing in their public transit systems. This includes implementing contactless payment technology at entryways, helping to make it quicker and more efficient for people to tap their contactless card or device to pay for their fare.

“Transit is an important everyday spend category that can cement our Cards to top of wallet status,” said Raymond Joabar, Group President, Global Merchant & Network Services. “For many of our Card Members in the U.S., transit purchases are a daily occurrence where the average transaction is about $2 to $3 in the U.S. depending on where you live translating to a $200B+ opportunity globally.”

American Express introduced its Enterprise Transit Solution in 2021 to work with transit merchants to help move more people more efficiently through the ticketing process.

“Through transit, we are engaging tens of millions of Card Members who take public transportation daily. Amex is accepted by almost 600 transit authorities around the globe, and 81 of those are live with tap-to-pay. As more transit authorities convert to open loop technology, our Cards can be accepted more easily,” says Matthew Robinson, EVP, Network and Acquirer Solutions, Global Merchant & Network Services.

Scroll down to see how Card Members today can use their Amex to tap, pay, and go in major cities around the world.

Canada

Amex has expanded to 11 transit agencies in Ontario since launching contactless payments on Metro Vancouver’s transportation network, TransLink, in 2019. The latest is the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) which includes buses, streetcars, and subways across Canada’s largest city. Amex also provided eligible Card Members with limited time offers to earn statement credits on their Card when they tapped to pay.

Hong Kong and Taiwan

Bus, ferry, and tram travel are three of the most used means of transportation to commute in Hong Kong. As of October 2023, Card Members in Hong Kong have been able to pay for transit fares with their Amex Card when traveling with The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (“KMB”). And since March 2024, Star Ferry and Hong Kong Tramways now accept American Express. Tap-to-pay subway acceptance with Amex Cards was also enabled with Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation in Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second largest city.

Japan

Since 2001, commuters in Japan have used pre-paid contactless cards. Card Members could start to use their Amex to tap-to-pay in 2022. In 2023, the percentage of cashless payments in the country ratio was 39.3%, showing a steady increase to achieve the Japanese government’s goal of around 40% by 2025¹.

Now, Japan has been phasing in a new system that enables transit riders to use participating credit cards and digital wallets to pay.

Amex teamed up with international payment brand, JCB, to offer a contactless payment solution for public transit. By expanding transit locations, Card Members today can pay using their Amex at more than 70 railway systems and bus lines.

New York City Metro Area

Amex worked with New York’s interconnected transit system operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), and NJ TRANSIT(NJT), to integrate acceptance into the existing transit infrastructure. This means that Amex Card Members can have a trusted and reliable payment experience when taking public transit across the New York City Metro Area.

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¹ Website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan:  https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2024/0329_002.html