London’s Santander Cycles scheme has introduced contactless payments to make the process of hiring a bike quicker and easier.

Santander Cycles has achieved five consecutive months with more than one million hires

The upgrade, which will take place from around 17-22 November, will enable customers to hire a cycle using their contactless bank card, rather than chip and pin. The new system will accept all major UK and international cards.

The scheme – named after its bank sponsor but popularly known as ‘Boris Bikes’ – recently celebrated its eighth birthday while also scoring record usage in October, and the introduction of contactless payments is expected to increase the appeal.

David Eddington, head of cycle hire at TfL, said: “Making Santander Cycles accessible with contactless payment cards will make it even easier for our customers to get out and enjoy the benefits of exploring London by bike. Customers from all over the world use our record-breaking scheme and we’re pleased that they will soon find it even easier to hire a bike. We encourage all users to download the app now, which means they won’t experience any disruption while we upgrade the system.”