Apple Pay With Express Transit Mode Now Available for San Francisco Bay Area's Clipper Card - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Pay With Express Transit Mode Now Available for San Francisco Bay Area's Clipper Card

The Clipper card, used for most transit options in the San Francisco Bay Area, now supports Apple Pay with Express Transit Mode. Starting today, Clipper cards can be added to the Wallet app on an iPhone and Apple Watch and used wherever Clipper cards are accepted.

clipper card express transit apple pay
Clipper cards can be reloaded directly in the Wallet app, making it more convenient to travel throughout the Bay Area. Apple has a dedicated Clipper card website with details on how to transfer a Clipper card to the iPhone.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Clipper cards are used for BART, Caltrain, Muni, VTA and more. With Express Transit Mode, transit can be authenticated with a tap and no need to use Face ID, Touch ID, or touch a transit machine.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

iphone 18 pro blue%402x

iPhone 18 Pro: Dark Cherry, Light Blue, and Dark Gray Chassis Leaked [Update]

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:18 am PDT by
Update: Since publication, new information has come to light suggesting the images have been AI-manipulated and are not in fact iPhone 18 Pro chassis parts. The original article follows. The color options Apple is reportedly planning for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max have appeared online today in the form of images of chassis parts of unknown authenticity....
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:53 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...
iOS 27 All the New App Features

iOS 27: All the Rumored App Features

Wednesday June 3, 2026 3:48 pm PDT by
Siri is getting a major overhaul in iOS 27, but Apple also has some big updates planned for apps like Camera, Photos, and Wallet. There are multiple new AI features in the works, plus some non-AI upgrades. Camera Apple is moving Visual Intelligence from the Camera Control button to the Camera app in iOS 27, according to Bloomberg. There will be a Siri mode that will be available alongside...

Top Rated Comments

alexandr Avatar
67 months ago
yea, america — joining the rest of the world :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago

Add it manually.

But this also means that the physical card can no longer be used after the transfer? How is that for a good customer experience if you can’t get home when your phone’s battery is gone.

The Clipper card, used for most transit options in the San Francisco Bay Area, now supports ('https://transit.applepay.apple/san-francisco') Apple Pay with Express Transit Mode. Starting today, Clipper cards can be added to the Wallet app on an iPhone and Apple Watch and used wherever Clipper cards are accepted.

MacRumors content image

Clipper cards can be reloaded directly in the Wallet app, making it more convenient to travel throughout the Bay Area. Apple has a dedicated Clipper card website ('https://transit.applepay.apple/san-francisco') with details on how to transfer a Clipper card to the iPhone.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Clipper cards are used for BART, Caltrain, Muni, VTA and more. With Express Transit Mode, transit can be authenticated with a tap and no need to use Face ID, Touch ID, or touch a transit machine.

Article Link: Apple Pay With Express Transit Mode Now Available for San Francisco Bay Area's Clipper Card ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/04/15/clipper-card-apple-pay-express-transit/')

Unfortunately it errors out when I try to add my card and hold my phone over it
You don't hold your phone over it. You put your phone directly on it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
podycust Avatar
67 months ago

Add it manually.

But this also means that the physical card can no longer be used after the transfer? How is that for a good customer experience if you can’t get home when your phone’s battery is gone.
If you got an XR or newer that’s not a problem as it has power reserve of about 5 hours where you can still use your express travel card method - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec90cd29d1f/web
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago
This was a long time coming, finally, in Apple’s own backyard.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dontwalkhand Avatar
67 months ago

Does this work with Tap on/Tap off services like Caltrain? There website doesn't seem to say anything about this. I don't live in the Bay Area but visit sometimes. Would someone mind testing it for me.

I'm seriously considering a trip out once my 2 weeks after vaccine is up just to test this out.
It works exactly the same as a physical card.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
squirrelist Avatar
67 months ago

Will the card still work? If I want to add value to the "card," should I do it via the wallet and it flows to the card as well? or is the card now worthless and the phone is my only option?
Clipper only allows you to have one card per account. So if you enable this your plastic card is deactivated. If they allowed the other card to continue that would be a huge loophole. You could give the card to someone else and if you are both riding transit at the same time it would only charge you once in many cases.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)