The London Bus
EE has announced that its customers will now be able to pay for London buses using their smartphone's contactless payment technology. Reuters

Having last month announced it would be allowing customers to pay for the London Underground using their phones from 16 September, EE has now announced that using its Cash on Tap app people will be able to pay for trips on London's 8,600 buses simply by tapping their smartphones on the reader.

The news comes just one month after Transport for London (TfL) removed the ability for customers to pay in cash on buses, limiting travellers to using Oyster cards or pre-bought paper tickets - a move which TfL claims will save £24 million.

Contactless payments are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with most major banks offering their customers debit cards with in-built contactless payment technology.

EE is the only UK network currently offering the ability to pay for buses and Tubes using their smartphones, though not all smartphones are capable of using the Cash on Tap app.

Pippa Dunn, chief consumer marketing officer at EE said: "More people use London's buses than all the other bus services across the country combined, so the need for speedy and simple payment solutions is paramount. That's why we've been working hard to bring our contactless mobile payments service, Cash on Tap, to TfL's network – removing the need for customers to queue for a ticket, or hunt through their pockets and bags to find the right card."

As well as having a compatible smartphone, you will have to be a pay-monthly customer on one of EE's 4G plans to use the system.

TfL has announced that contactless payments will be accepted on London's Underground, DLR and Overground services from 16 September.