Paying for public transport with your bank card

In this guide, we explain how you can pay for public transport with your bank card in New South Wales (NSW).

When we talk about public transport, we mean:

• buses
• trains
• light rail
• ferries.

Paying for public transport with your bank card can make it easier to travel in NSW. 

The cost to travel using your bank card will be the same as using an Opal card.

An Opal card is a card you put money on to travel on public transport in NSW.

You will also still get the same benefits of using an Opal card.

For example, you:

• don’t have to pay more than a certain amount on some days of the week 

• will get a 30% discount on some types of public transport outside busy times of the day

• will get a $2 discount for each time you change public transport on your trip.

You can’t get concession card prices for your travel if you pay with your bank card.

But this might change in the future.

A concession card is a card from the government that gives certain people a discount on some services.

You can find out more about the cost of travel on the Adult fares page on the Transport NSW website.

You can use your bank card if it lets you make contactless payments.

A contactless payment is a way to pay without having to swipe or insert your bank card.

There is a symbol on your card that tells you if you can make contactless payments.

You can also ask your bank if your card can make contactless payments.

You can add a bank card to the digital wallet on your smart devices.

For example, your:

• smart phone – like an iPhone
• smart watch – like an Apple Watch.

You can use the digital wallet on these devices to tap on and off when you use public transport.

You must make sure you:

• tap on and off with the same device each time

• have enough battery to last the whole time you travel.

If your device runs out of battery, you might have to pay more for your travel.

Some smart devices will let you pay for public transport without you having to unlock it.

We explain below how you can set this up on an:

• iPhone
• Apple Watch
• Samsung phone. 

To pay for public transport without having to unlock your iPhone, you need to:

1. Open your Wallet app.

Then select the card you want to use.

2. Tap the three dots on the top right.

Then tap ‘Card Details’.

3. Tap the ‘Express Travel’ settings or ‘Express Mode’.

4. Select the bank card you want to use to pay for public transport.

You can find out more about how to pay for public transport on the Use Express Mode page on the Apple website.

To pay for public transport without having to unlock your Apple Watch, you need to:

1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

2. In the My Watch Tab, select ‘Wallet & Apply Pay’.

3. Tap ‘Express Travel Card’.

Then select the bank card you want to use to pay for public transport.

4. Then type your passcode on your Apple Watch to complete the change.

To pay for public transport without having to unlock your Samsung phone, you need to:

1. Open your Samsung Pay app.

Then select ‘Start’ under the Transport card heading.

2. Tap on ‘Set up transport card’.

3. Select the bank card you want to use to pay for public transport.

You can find out more about how to pay on the How to use Samsung Pay page on the Samsung website.