MasterCard Offers Apple Pay Users Free Public Transit in London Starting Today
In an effort to increase adoption of contactless payments, major credit card issuer MasterCard has launched a limited time "Fare Free Mondays" promotion, offering free public transit to Apple Pay users in London on Mondays between November 23 and December 14, 2015.
Starting today, and on the next three Mondays, MasterCard customers using Apple Pay to touch in and out on London's public transit network will have up to £27.90 in daily fares refunded by MasterCard. The promotion is valid for travel on the Tube, buses, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.
Mark Barnett, president of MasterCard UK&I:
“The move by TfL last year to accept contactless cards and devices on London Underground has been a phenomenal catalyst to the growth in contactless payments across the UK. Now that Apple Pay has arrived we want to encourage travellers on London’s transport network to try it out and give them another convenient option to pay for their travel. What better way to do this, than to offer MasterCard customers using Apple Pay the chance to travel for free over the next four consecutive Mondays.”
MasterCard competitor Visa today also unveiled a new Apple Pay "Ready" campaign in Europe, including two TV ads from agency Saatchi & Saatchi that highlight how fast, easy and reliable using a Visa card in Apple Pay is in everyday situations such as paying to use the Tube or in a cafe.
Apple Pay
expanded to the U.K. in July and is accepted at more than 250,000 locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The iPhone-based mobile payments service recently gained
support for Tesco Bank and TSB in the country alongside over 90 new U.S. issuers.
Popular Stories
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
