The Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) will soon introduce contactless bank card payments across the entire Budapest Metro network. According to the transport authority, installation of new ticket validation devices required for the Pay&GO system began on March 11, with the service expected to become available on all metro lines by mid-April.
The Budapest Pay&GO system allows passengers to purchase and validate their tickets in a single step by simply tapping a bank card or smart device on a validator. The process requires no prior registration, mobile app, or paper ticket. The bank card itself serves as proof of travel, which ticket inspectors can verify through the Pay&GO system.
Contactless payment for public transport has become an international standard and is already used in hundreds of major cities worldwide.
Installation of the new validators is expected to take about four weeks. The devices will first appear at stations on the M2 line, followed by the M4, and then the M3 metro line. Until mid-April the newly installed validators will remain inactive, meaning tickets cannot yet be purchased or validated on them. Typically, between two and five devices will be installed at each station, while some existing ticket validators will remain available for passengers using traditional paper tickets.
At the same time, between March 9 and April 1, previously installed NFC readers used to validate tickets purchased in the BudapestGO app will be removed from metro stations.
For now, the expanded pilot system will enable ticket purchases via Pay&GO. In the future, the full electronic ticketing service is expected to offer more options not only for occasional travelers but also for regular commuters, including passes, discounted fares, and spending caps such as daily or weekly limits.
According to plans, the bank card–based system could gradually be introduced across the entire Budapest and suburban public transport network starting in 2028.
