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Introducing contactless payments on public transport

By the end of 2024, you’ll have more ways to pay for AT buses, trains and ferries. You’ll be able to tag on and off with your contactless debit card, credit card, smartphone or smartwatch.

Contactless payment methods accepted will include: 

  • contactless debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay) 
  • Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay in the digital wallet of your smart device.

Standard adult fares apply with contactless payments. For continued access to discounted concession fares, keep on using your AT HOP card.

Differences between AT HOP and contactless payments 

AT HOP is a prepaid smart card that offers concession fares plus a range of features that put you in control. And because you prepay, you can manage your budget.

Contactless payments give you the freedom to travel using your existing payment cards or digital wallet.  

AT HOP card
Illustration of blue AT HOP card

Features and benefits include:

 

  • access to concessions and discounts
  • 7-day fare cap of $50
  • balance refunds for lost or stolen cards
  • personalised travel alerts
  • detailed travel history.
Contactless payments
Illustration of black credit card with Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay and American Express logos

Features and benefits include:

 

  • standard adult fares
  • no transaction fees for New Zealand-issued cards
  • basic travel history for the last 7 days
  • no setup or advance top-up needed.

 

Quick tips for paying on public transport

Whether you use your HOP card or a contactless payment method, you’ll need to do a few things to make sure you’re charged the correct fare for your trip:

  1. Get ready to travel by removing your card from your wallet or activating your smart device before you board. 
  2. Tap a single card or device on the card reader when tagging on and off.
  3. Always use the same card or device to tag on and off. ​

Remember, concession fares are only available on AT HOP cards.

A 3-panel instructional image shows a person removing a Visa card from their wallet in panel 1 and tapping it on the card reader panel 2. In the third image, the person has tagged on with their credit card but incorrectly tagged off with their mobile phone, indicated with a red X.

More things to know

Card clash

Our new card readers can scan AT HOP cards, contactless payment cards and smart devices. Presenting multiple payment methods at once can lead to ‘card clash’, where more than one card is scanned. To ensure that your travel is charged to the right card, remove it from your wallet when tagging on and off.

Fares

With contactless payments, you’ll pay the same adult fares as you would with AT HOP. You can still get off-peak discounts but will not be able to access concession fares, including child, secondary or tertiary student, Community Connect, accessible, SuperGold and Fareshare. To get these discounts, keep on using your HOP card.

Payments

When you first tag on, a preauthorisation of 10 cents, depending on your bank, may appear on your statement as a pending transaction.

At the end of the day, the total amount you’ve spent on AT public transport that day will replace the 10-cent charge.

Using smart devices and digital wallets

Digital cards, physical cards and smart devices are separate payment methods. To make sure you’re charged the correct fare, always tag on and tag off using the same card or device.

Transferring between services

When transferring between services, always use the same payment method for all your travel so that you’re charged the correct fare.

National Ticketing Solution

For more information about contactless payments and the National Ticketing Solution, coming soon, visit Auckland's ticketing system transformation.

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