Passengers on London’s 8,500 buses will this week for the first time be able to pay for their fares using bank cards that are enabled for contactless payments, according to the Financial Times.

The system is intended to eventually include the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway but will start with buses on Thursday (13 December).

The report does not mention the timetable for when NFC-enabled smartphones will join contactless cards in being available for payments.

Originally the plan had been to offer contactless card payments in time for this summer’s London Olympics but TfL delayed its launch, citing development work with payment card providers.