Pay contactless for public transport without opening Wallet
Important: Express pay for public transport is supported on all devices with Wear OS 4+. Learn how to check the Wear OS version on your smartwatch.
Express pay is a secure way to pay contactless for public transport without opening Google Wallet on your smartwatch. To use express pay, you must first turn on this setting. Turning this setting on only applies to using express pay for public transport on your smartwatch.
Tips:
- Your default payment card is used when you use express pay. To change a payment method, you need to update your default payment card. Learn how to change your default payment card.
- If you have a transport pass in your Wallet, express pay will use your transport pass instead of your default payment card.
Through the Google Wallet app on your watch
- On your smartwatch, open the Google Wallet app
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- Tap Manage Wallet.
- Check your paired phone.
- On your phone, tap your profile picture or account
Wallet settings.
- Under 'Express pay', tap Public transport.
- Turn on Express pay for public transport.
- Tip: If your device supports express pay for contactless transactions, you can select to use express pay for public transport only or for contactless payments and public transport. Learn more about how to use express pay to pay contactless.
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Wallet settings.Important: For express pay to work, make sure that you wear the smartwatch on your wrist and have unlocked your smartwatch in the last 24 hours. Otherwise, you may be prompted to unlock it even when this setting is turned on.
- When you're at the payment terminal, turn your wrist and hold the face of the smartwatch close to the reader.
- Express pay is only activated when you completely turn your wrist towards the reader. If your motion is not detected, you will be prompted to confirm payment on your smartwatch.
- If the payment is successful, your smartwatch will vibrate and make a sound, and a blue tick will appear on the screen.
Use your transport pass without opening Google Wallet
When using a transport pass, you don't need to open Wallet on your smartwatch. This functionality is on by default and you don't need to adjust any settings.
- When you get to the public transport entrance, hold your smartwatch to the card reader.
- You don't need to open the Wallet app on your smartwatch.
- If you haven't unlocked your watch in the last 24 hours, you'll be prompted to unlock it before you use the transport pass.
- Wait for the travel card reader to respond.
- For some public transport systems, you have to show your pass to an attendant.
Tips:
- Clipper (San Francisco Bay Area) transport passes aren't supported. You'll still need to open the Wallet app before you hold it to the card reader.
- If you have express pay enabled, your transport pass will be the default method of payment for public transport. Learn more about using express pay for public transport.
Change the default credit or debit card used for contactless payments
Change the default card for all transactions on your smartwatch
Important: Changing the default card for your smartwatch won't affect the default card used for Google Wallet on your phone when making contactless payments.
Your default credit or debit card is used for this feature when you pay contactless on your smartwatch for contactless payments, including public transport.
To change the default card on your smartwatch, learn how to change your default card on Google Wallet.
Change a card for a single transaction on your smartwatch
You can manually select a different card to your default card when you pay contactless on your smartwatch for a single transaction.
Your default payment card will be used for any future transactions on your smartwatch unless you manually select a different card before you pay contactless. To change a card for a single transaction, learn how to pay with a non-default card on your smartwatch.
Tip: Some public transport systems require you to tap the travel card reader upon entry and exit. If you use a non-default card, make sure that you use the same card for both taps.