Apple Pay Express Mode Now Available at All Toronto Subway Stations

Apple Pay's Express Mode has rolled out to all TTC subway stations in Toronto, allowing riders to simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the reader at the turnstile to pay for their fare. With Express Mode, payment can be completed without waking or unlocking the device, or authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. Express Mode even works for up to five hours after an iPhone has run out of battery power.

Apple Pay Canada
As noted by Toronto resident Andrew Escobar, it is still not possible to add a PRESTO card to the Apple Wallet app, so Express Mode is limited to credit and debit cards added to the Wallet app for now. Public documents related to recent TTC meetings suggest that the PRESTO card will gain Apple Wallet support later this year.

To set up a credit or debit card for use with Apple Pay, open the Wallet app on the iPhone, tap the plus sign in the top-right corner, and follow the on-screen instructions. To set a payment card as the default option for Express Mode, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap Wallet & Apple Pay, tap Express Transit Card, and select a card.

Some payment readers elsewhere in the TTC system already worked with Apple Pay's Express Mode. Apple periodically updates a list of locations where Apple Pay's Express Mode is available for transit on its iOS feature availability page.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Top Rated Comments

spcgry Avatar
4 days ago at 09:02 am
Great, now Vancouver needs to follow suit.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigjnyc Avatar
4 days ago at 08:29 am
Absolutely love this in NYC... I set my work transit card as the default transit card... And now I just hold my watch near the reader without pressing any buttons and walk right through... This is a game changer
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rwilliams Avatar
4 days ago at 08:51 am
We tested this out recently in the DC area and it worked perfectly. What a great feature that keeps the flow of people going without having to manually activate Apple Pay.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hyperchaotic Avatar
4 days ago at 09:55 am

Great, now Vancouver needs to follow suit.
I've been pressing the feedback link on the Translink website once a year requesting wallet support for the Compass card and Compass concession card. They're expecting me know, last response were:

"Thanks again for your email, and your continued feedback regarding the mobile wallet option.

The ability to add the Compass Card to a mobile wallet continues to be explored as an alternate payment option. Rest assured, your comments remain on file in support of the feature. "

I get the feeling they're trying to tell me something about my annual mails.

Pls feel free to let them know you want it too.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PeterKeller Avatar
4 days ago at 08:29 am
Worked great for us in Sydney, Australia. No idea why all places don't offer this.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jhollington Avatar
4 days ago at 12:49 pm

I just figured that once they supposed contactless CC payments, that express mode would just work. Surprised to hear that it is something that TTC/Metrolinx would have to enable since it is more of a phone feature.
The terminals need to be updated to send the necessary digital signature to your iPhone or Apple Watch to identify themselves as an authorized transit terminal. Otherwise, Express Mode would be a criminal's dream, as any portable NFC payment terminal — like a Square reader — could be used to steal money from you simply by brushing it up against your device.

I don't ride the TTC that often, but I've had trouble with Express Mode at subway stations, so it's not hard to believe it hadn't been rolled out everywhere. Maybe at some stations, but it definitely wasn't working at most of the ones from Eglinton West up to Wilson the last time I tried it — I've always had to unlock my iPhone or Apple Watch first. Likewise, Andrew (who is cited in the article) also mentioned on Twitter/X ('https://x.com/andrewe/status/1773012254952145128?s=20') that he only discovered it because it suddenly started working at Lawrence after months of stubborn persistence through the failures.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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