Apple Pay Now Available on Clipper Card: How to Use in Transit Systems

Apple Pay enters a broader range now that it includes the Clipper Card. You can now use your iPhone or Apple watch to pay instead of the traditional tap-to-pay card. This development brings exciting new features but also a few reminders you should keep an eye out for.

The Verge noted that the Clipper Card is an all-in-one transit card used for contactless fare payments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. You can reload money to the card, and it would automatically serve as your electronic transit fare payment. The Clipper Card is used for various transportation modes, including BART (which serves the East Bay and San Francisco), Caltrain (which connects San Francisco to the peninsula and South Bay), Muni (San Francisco's bus and light rail system), VTA (South Bay buses and light rail), and even ferries. The Clipper card includes both private and public transit modes.

Apple Pay and Clipper Card

Now, PR News Wire just reported that Clipper on Apple Pay makes paying for transit rides easier and safer. Contactless fare systems have become particularly important after last year's events. MTC Chair Alfredo Pedroza said that "With Clipper's launch today on iPhone and Apple Watch, we are offering greater safety and convenience to riders, drivers, station agents, and transit operators."

There is now a new Clipper mobile apple available for iPhones that allow you to easily manage your Clipper account and cards to plan your trips around the Bay Area accurately. However, you must use the clipper app first to buy the transit agency passes used for Apple Pay.

How to Use Contactless Fare System

After enrolling on both an Apple Pay account and the Clipper mobile app, load up your electronic transit fare payment to your card. Register your Clipper Card to your Apple Wallet. Enable Express Transit for your Apple Pay. You can do this by opening your Apple Wallet, scrolling at the bottom, and clicking open the Express Transit Card. Select your Clipper Card.

The beauty of this combination means you can now pay your transit fee via iPhone or Apple Watch without having to wake or unlock your smartphone constantly. The service will be available for about five hours and will be verified by face ID. You simply need to put your iPhone or Apple Watch near the Clipper reader, and it will automatically register.

There are, however, a few reminders to take note of when using Apple Pay and Clipper Card System.

• You need to open location access so Apple Pay can verify your purchases.
• Clipper transit-fare payment card to Apple Wallet is only available for iPhone 8 or later versions and Apple Watch Series 3 or later versions.
• Hand-held Clipper card readers do not support Express Mode yet. You must authenticate by Face ID, Touch ID, personal Passcode, or pulling out your Clipper Card.
• A Clipper Card can only be added to a single device, so your iPhone and Apple cannot share the same card simultaneously. You can, however, use two different cards instead.
• Apple warns users to "keep your plastic Clipper card for Bay Wheels bike-share use and your RTC [disability discount] card for fare inspection."