Gautrain, the commuter rail service that connects the South African cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, is to let passengers use their contactless bank cards to pay for their journeys by tapping on and off the service from 31 October.

Commuters will also be able to use their bank card to tap in and out of car parking facilities as well as on Gautrain bus services, the company says.

“To ensure the security and privacy of your bank card, Gautrain does not store bank card numbers,” it explains.

“Instead, bank card numbers are converted to a token which we then save.”

To use the service, passengers will need to first register their card for the new Tag ’n Ride service on Gautrain’s website and enter their 16-digit card number.

A tokenized version of their card number will then be generated for them to link to their card.

“Rail user discounts and other special offers will still apply when travelling with your contactless bank card, as long as you use the same contactless bank card for your entire journey, including train, bus and parking,” Gautrain says.

“However, train products (monthly, weekly, return and single train products) can only be loaded onto a Gautrain card.”

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