New York subway now supports tap-to-pay service at all stations

You can now access any New York subway station with a simple tap of a phone, instead of the (notoriously capricious) swipe a MetroCard.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Thursday that it has completed the rollout of tap-to-pay scanners at all subway stations and on all of its buses throughout the city. The MTA has been installing the system, called OMNY, since May 2019 as part of a modernization effort to phase out plastic MetroCards in use since the 90s. The new contactless payment system is available in 472 stations and 5 800 buses in total, the MTA said.

The tap-to-pay is supposed to speed up entry on buses and subways and reduce costs throughout the transit system, officials said. It is also intended to be simpler and more modern. Other cities have had transit systems for years or decades.

For now, you need a phone that supports NFC-based mobile payments in order to use the OMNY system. Later in 2021, the MTA will start selling tap-to-pay cards that can be used in place of a phone – a big addition because not all users own a smartphone. Support for reduced fares for senior drivers and disabled drivers will also come at some point this year.

MetroCards are expected to be “completely phased out” by 2023.