Transport for London (TfL) has struck a multi-million pound licensing deal that will see the technology behind its contactless payments system used in other cities around the world.
The deal - worth up to $15 million - gives specialist vendor Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) access to London's contactless system, allowing it to be specifically tailored for other world cities' transport needs.
TfL and CTS have a long history, working together to introduce the Oyster card system back in 2003. Since then London has moved on to become the first major city to accept contactless payments cards as well as mobile options such as Apple Pay.
The contactless service was first launched on London's buses in December 2012 and expanded to cover Tube and rail services in the capital in September 2014. Since then, more than 500 million journeys have been made by more than 12 million unique credit and debit cards from 90 different countries.
CTS will be hoping that TfL's technology will help it as it bids to supply the New York Metro system. The firm already provides smartcard ticketing technology to a number of world cities, including Sydney, Brisbane, Vancouver and Chicago.
New Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says that the money raised from the deal will be put towards infrastructure investment and freezing fares for London's commuters.
Shashi Verma, CTO and director of customer experience, TfL, says: "Contactless payments have completely transformed the way people pay for travel in London and this deal will allow other world cities to benefit from the hard work we put into making the system work for our customers."