The transport network in London has recently set up a new service which will allow passengers to use their mobile phones to pay for travel on the city's buses, underground and trains. This service is presently at trial phase for 500 commuters and will run for six months until the end of May 2008. Transport for London was a pioneer in bringing out the 'Oyster card' in 2003 a smartcard which allowed the users to store up credit to pay for tickets electronically. Since then over 10 million Oyster cards had been issued. Each commuter in the trial session will be given a mobile handset equipped with a virtual Oyster card, fitted with near-field communication (NFC) technology, which enables a wide range of uses, including cashless payments. Through this technology the commuters will be also able to use the Oyster ticketing function on their phones to swipe their way through ticket gates and to top up their Oyster card by simply touching their handset on ticket machines in tube stations or at Oyster ticket stops. The testers will also be able to try out a range of other services, including making low-value purchases in shops and cafés, and touching the NFC-enabled handset on selected "smart posters", which contain embedded tags and serve as short cuts to services. Source: http://www.epractice.eu/document/4205