SEPTA is testing fare payments via credit card and mobile pay apps

SEPTA riders may soon be able to leave their Key card at home.

A pilot program is allowing riders to tap their credit card or mobile pay app to purchase their fare directly, the agency said Friday.

The agency is testing the contactless payment system for its buses, trolleys, and subways, with plans to roll out the system to the general public this fall.

Frequent travelers know it takes a few steps to create an online account through SEPTA’s portal, periodically reloading fares on their Key card by inputting a balance that’s transferred from their bank account.

While riders can already tap in using the SEPTA app, contactless payment lets riders enter by tapping their bank card in either physical form or through apps like Apple Pay and Google Pay on the validator at a SEPTA turnstile or on a bus or trolley.

Fares will remain the same, a spokesperson said, and those who tap multiple times in one day will have their fares bundled into a single charge at the end of the day.

SEPTA did not offer a definitive timeline for a wide-scale rollout, saying the pilot would continue until the agency was “satisfied with the volume of daily transactions and confident that the system is ready to be rolled out for general public use.”

And riders of Regional Rail — which SEPTA said faces complexities with fare processing — will have to wait until early 2024 for a contactless payment pilot and eventual rollout.

To participate in SEPTA’s contactless payment pilot, the agency is urging riders to sign up using an online form. The agency said it has enrolled 90 of the 200 testers they hope to sign up.

Riders who want to participate are asked to tap their payment method at a fare validator on the Market-Frankford or Broad Street lines before filling out the form for identification purposes. They will not be charged for that initial tap, the agency said.