Beijing Subway Supports Tap-and-Go with 5 Most Used Overseas Cards
Source：english.beijing.gov.cn 2025-06-17
Beijing's urban rail transit system now supports contactless tap-and-go access, ticket purchases and top-ups with overseas-issued JCB cards and domestically/overseas-issued American Express cards. This move, taken on June 15, 2025, is aimed at optimizing payment services of Beijing's urban rail transit system, enhancing the quality of inbound tourism services, and supporting Beijing's development into an international consumption center.
Following the introduction of new payment options in September 2024, which supported Mastercard and Visa cards, this new move marks another major upgrade in terms of payment convenience for Chinese and foreign passengers within Beijing's transportation area. It made Beijing's urban rail transit system become the world's first city rail system to achieve full-network coverage of payment services from all five major card organizations: China UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa, JCB, and American Express.
This service upgrade covers all 29 operational lines (including the two express lines to the airports, Xijiao Line, and Yizhuang T1 Line) and 523 stations across the city's entire network, as well as the Suburban Railway Line S2, enabling contactless card-tapping through all fare gates at all stations during their entire operating hours. Passengers can pass through the gates instantly by holding their cards near the designated sensor areas on the fare gates without purchasing tickets or downloading Apps beforehand.
Since the launch of China's first-ever tap-and-go service for overseas bank cards on September 13, 2024, bank cards from over 130 countries and regions have been used in Beijing's urban rail transit system.
Following the introduction of new payment options in September 2024, which supported Mastercard and Visa cards, this new move marks another major upgrade in terms of payment convenience for Chinese and foreign passengers within Beijing's transportation area. It made Beijing's urban rail transit system become the world's first city rail system to achieve full-network coverage of payment services from all five major card organizations: China UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa, JCB, and American Express.
This service upgrade covers all 29 operational lines (including the two express lines to the airports, Xijiao Line, and Yizhuang T1 Line) and 523 stations across the city's entire network, as well as the Suburban Railway Line S2, enabling contactless card-tapping through all fare gates at all stations during their entire operating hours. Passengers can pass through the gates instantly by holding their cards near the designated sensor areas on the fare gates without purchasing tickets or downloading Apps beforehand.
Since the launch of China's first-ever tap-and-go service for overseas bank cards on September 13, 2024, bank cards from over 130 countries and regions have been used in Beijing's urban rail transit system.