The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PATH) and NJ Transit (NJT) have been working with Visa rival MasterCard since June on a contactless trial.

Now Visa is joining the project, letting commuters pay for journeys on certain bus, subway and rail routes with payWave cards or mobile phones equipped with technology from DeviceFidelity that fits into their microSD slots.

Meanwhile, earlier this week Visa also finally launched commercial implementation of a contactless system for the LA Metro.

First flagged in 2008, the service sees Visa and the LA Metro system team to offer two types of pre-paid payWave cards that incorporate the transit system's "TAP" fare application.

Ride, pay and reload cards will be sold through automated ReadyStation kiosks within the LA Metro system, with customers able to add up to $500 in value. These cards will be ready to use immediately for both transit fares and retail purchases.

Alternatively, customers can opt for personalised cards which are ordered online or over the phone. These cards have PIN numbers to enable users to withdraw cash at ATMs whilst customers can also have their pay cheques deposited directly to the account.

Jim McCarthy, global head, product, Visa, says: "Transit agencies the world over have one primary goal - to get their customers to where they need to go quickly and efficiently. What transit agencies and riders recognise is that using Visa on buses, subways and trains is the logical evolution in terms of improved speed, security and convenience."