Help and Support
We don’t currently accept contactless payments for topping up smart cards on our buses as we believe this may increase boarding times and therefore, delay our buses.
Contactless payments are highly secure—often safer than carrying cash. Here’s why:
If your payment was declined and your card is now blocked, here’s what happens next:
When you tap your card on the bus, the payment is processed later the same day. If there are issues - such as insufficient funds - your bank (the card issuer) decides whether to approve or decline the payment. If the payment is declined, we will attempt to collect it again over the following days.
There are several reasons why a contactless payment might not work, but unfortunately, our drivers won’t know the exact cause. If your payment fails, try using a different card, an Apple or Google Pay-enabled device, or purchasing a ticket through our First Bus App.
Some common reasons for a failed contactless payment include:
You can request a refund for any contactless transaction via our online portal.
Alternatively, you can fill out our contact form with the details of your request and our Customer Service team will be in touch. See our Contact Us page for more ways to contact our Customer Service team.
No, nothing has gone wrong. Occasionally, we may authorise a small payment (e.g., 10p) to check with your card issuer that the card is valid. This is a standard process, particularly if it’s the first time your card has been used or we haven’t seen it in a few days.
First Bus set a transaction limit of £45 for contactless payments. This is to prevent the use of stolen cards to buy large quantities of tickets in a single purchase.
You can use contactless to purchase any of our tickets up to a total value of £45. This can include more than one ticket in a single transaction, e.g. an adult and a child ticket so long as the total price does not exceed £45.
For purchases of more than £45 we recommend using mTickets on the First Bus App. For FAQs on mTickets click here.
Most contactless cards issued outside of the UK should work on our ticket machines. However, if your card doesn’t work, please contact your bank or card issuer for assistance. Keep in mind that cards issued outside of the UK may incur overseas transaction fees, which are applied by your bank or card issuer.
All Visa and MasterCard cards displaying the contactless symbol 
, along with Apple Pay and Google Pay, can be used. Unfortunately, we do not accept payments by American Express or Maestro.
If you’re using a pre-paid card, please ensure you have enough credit before trying to purchase your ticket as unfortunately this could result in your card being rejected.