Instructions for contactless payment

You can use contactless payment to buy adult single tickets at the prices shown below (effective from 2 June 2026 until further notice). Passengers other than adults can also travel with a ticket purchased using contactless payment, but they will be charged the adult fare.

Zones AB, BC, CD, DE
€3.50 

Zones ABC, BCD, CDE
€4.80

Zones ABCD, BCDE 
€5.30

Zones ABCDE
€6.50

A fare cap applies to adult single tickets purchased using contactless payment. If you buy several single tickets within 24 hours, the total amount you pay is automatically capped at the price of the day ticket that covers your journeys.

Fare caps for contactless payment:

AB, BC, CD and DE tickets: €10.60
ABC, BCD and CDE tickets: €12.80
ABCD and BCDE tickets: €13.80
ABCDE tickets: €17.20

• You can use contactless payment to buy adult single tickets for all fare zones. The HSL area is divided into five zones, identified by the letters A, B, C, D, and E. Buy a ticket that covers all the zones you will travel through.
• When traveling in zones A, B, C, D, or E, you must buy a ticket covering at least two zones: AB, BC, CD, or DE, depending on where you travel. Please note that tickets are not available for individual zones A, B, C, D, or E.
• You can check the zone boundaries in the Journey Planner. When you search for a route, the Journey Planner will show you which ticket you need.

Buy a single ticket with your debit or credit card (Visa or Mastercard) at the card reader.

1. First, select the zones.

If you don't see the ticket you need on the first screen, use the arrow button to view more options on the second screen.

2. Tap your debit or credit card on the reader.

3. Your card serves as your ticket.

The card reader does not print a ticket. Your debit or credit card serves as your ticket, which you present to ticket inspectors. The reader will not request your PIN code.

You can buy your tickets using a debit or credit card: Visa or MasterCard with a contactless payment feature. You can recognize a contactless card by the contactless symbol.

Your card must be valid and have sufficient funds to pay for your journey.

If you have a combination card, the payment will be charged to the debit or credit side set as the default for contactless payments. You can check the default setting for contactless payments in your online banking service.

You can also buy tickets using mobile payment apps linked to a Visa or Mastercard, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

To ensure that your purchases count towards the contactless payment fare cap, use the same payment method throughout the 24-hour period. Please note that your physical payment card and the same card added to a mobile device are treated as different payment methods. 

Please note that Edenred Mastercard, Amex and Diners Club are not accepted as payment methods.

You can transfer between services while your ticket is valid.

You can use tickets purchased with contactless payment on all HSL public transport services: buses, the Metro, commuter trains, trams, and the Suomenlinna ferry. Please note:  Contactless payment is not yet available on U line buses.

When transferring to a bus, show your debit or credit card to the card reader. Do not press the zone buttons. On commuter trains, the Metro, trams, orange trunk route buses, and the Suomenlinna ferry, you only need to show your debit or credit card if requested by a ticket inspector or conductor.

The validity period of a single ticket purchased using contactless payment is based on the selected zones, as usual:

• AB, BC and DE tickets: 80 minutes
• ABC, CD and CDE tickets: 90 minutes
• BCD and BCDE tickets: 100 minutes
• ABCD and ABCDE tickets: 110 minutes

The card reader displays the ticket’s validity period after you purchase it:

The card reader indicates whether your debit or credit card has a valid single ticket:

If you can't remember whether the single ticket you purchased using contactless payment is still valid, you can check it at any time by holding your debit or credit card up to a card reader. Do not press anything on the card reader; simply hold your card up to it.

You can use contactless payment to buy adult single tickets for yourself and one or more people traveling with you. You can buy up to 10 tickets at a time.

1 Select travel zone.
2 Press the + button.
3 Select the number of tickets and press OK.
4 Pay with your debit/credit card.

Please note that the contactless payment fare cap is personal. If you buy several tickets in one transaction, only one of them counts towards the fare cap. The other tickets purchased in the same transaction are charged as usual.

Show your debit or credit card to the ticket inspector. The inspector uses an app to check whether your ticket is valid. They will not handle your card or take it into their hands. Your card details are processed securely. The inspector can only see information related to your HSL ticket, not any other card details or your personal data.

The card reader will alert you if your debit or credit card cannot be used to pay for your journey.

There are several possible reasons for this:

• If you hold a wallet containing multiple contactless payment cards near the card reader, it may be unable to read the correct card. Present only one card to the reader at a time. 
• You removed the card too quickly. Show it to the reader again.
• If you are using a new card for contactless payment on HSL public transport for the first time, it may not work because your bank requires you to activate the card at a chip and PIN terminal. You cannot activate your card at an HSL card reader.
• The card may be blocked from use on public transport if we were previously unable to charge a ticket to it. You can use the card again once you have paid the outstanding amount to HSL. 
• The error message may also be caused by insufficient funds or a daily security limit being reached. You can adjust these limits in your online banking service.

If you use a different payment method to buy your next ticket, the purchase will not count towards the fare cap associated with the first payment method. A physical payment card and the same card added to a mobile device are treated as two different payment methods.

The card reader does not print a receipt for your ticket.

• If you need a receipt, log in to the contactless payment portal here. Enter the requested information in the portal and you will receive a receipt and ticket details. You can retrieve a receipt from the portal within 365 days of the purchase.
• You can also obtain a digital receipt through the ReceiptHero eReceipt service. Download the RepeiptHero app on your phone. Add your debit or credit card to the app, and you will get receipts for tickets purchased with contactless payment. This receipt service is especially useful if you buy tickets using your employer’s debit or credit card and need a receipt for an expense claim. Read more https://getreceipthero.com/
• Many banks offer apps that allow you to use your smartphone as a credit card. At HSL card readers, you can buy tickets using the ApplePay and GooglePay apps. If you pay using your bank's app, you can get a receipt via the contactless payment portal if you purchased the ticket with a card linked to the app. 
• Please note that the payment may not appear in your account transactions immediately.
• Contact HSL’s customer service if you have questions about contactless payments.

When you use a debit or credit card at an HSL card reader for the first time, the card is verified separately to make sure it can be used for payment. The card reader treats the card as new if you have not used it at an HSL card reader for six days. For Mastercard cards, a €1 authorization hold is placed on the card as part of this process. For Visa cards, the authorization hold is €0.

Banks differ in how these authorizations are shown to customers. The authorization hold is released when the ticket price is charged to your bank account. Similar authorizations may also be made in other situations if a card has not been used regularly at card readers to buy tickets.

An authorization hold is not the same as a €0 charge resulting from the fare cap. An authorization hold is used to check that the payment card works. Once you have reached the fare cap, you may be charged €0 for the next ticket that counts towards the fare cap.

First, check the contactless payment receipt portal to see:
- Which payment method was used to buy the tickets
- When the 24-hour period started
- Which zones the tickets you purchased cover
- How much you were charged for each ticket

Please note that because of the fare cap, you may be charged less than the usual fare or €0 for a ticket.

If the amount charged still appears to be incorrect after you have checked these details, contact HSL Customer Service.