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TfL purchases Oyster contactless smart card brand rights
14 Apr 2010

Transport for London (TfL) has acquired the right to its Oyster Card brand in a £1 million deal.

The move frees up TfL to expand its range of payment facilities for the contactless smart card.

That is according to the BBC, which reports that TfL recently trialled the use of the technology on bank cards and mobile phones.

TranSys, whose contract to run the Oyster Card service expires in August, has also welcomed the repayment of a £101 million debt that was accruing to it from the transport company.

A TfL spokesperson told the BBC that this would deliver huge savings on interest payments of circa £4 million a year.

Kulveer Ranger, the mayor of London's transport adviser, told the news providers of Oyster's potential diversification of use.

"Oyster has the potential to be used for so much more than simply getting around the capital," he said.

"The technology is there to make it even more convenient for Londoners to use it by integrating it into mobile phones or bank cards."

This latest move will be seen as further evidence of an advancement towards a cashless society.

sQuid, an alternative ePayments provider, already facilitates many of the functions that Oyster cards are looking to explore.

sQuidcards can be used as a means of transit payment, low value retail payment, for cashless catering schemes and a host of other opportunities.