COVID-19 delays Apple Pay rollout on New York metro

A new fare payment system on New York's metro system that would have brought full Apple Pay support has been delayed.

As reported by WSJ:

The new way of paying for subway and bus trips using a smartphone or contactless credit card couldn't have come at a better time for New Yorkers wishing to avoid touching a MetroCard vending machine.

But the coronavirus pandemic has delayed by about two months the completion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's new fare payment system, OMNY, across the subway, officials said Tuesday.

The new OMNY system will bring a full rollout of fare payment through contactless credit or debit cards, smartphones and smartwatches including Apple Pay, According to the lead of the OMNY project Steve Brunner, work on the system was halted in March due to concerns that workers might become infected with COVID-19.

The system was due to be finished by October, so a delay of two months will take it right to the end of the year, with support for 7 and 30-day passes coming next year.

The system is however making its way to MTA busses in Manhattan by "the end of July", and citywide by the end of the year.

The rollout of some OMNY contactless units at the start of the year caused a stir following reports that users were being charged accidentally through Apple Pay as well as through their card, effectively paying twice for one journey.