An Essex bus company has banned customers from Monzo and Revolut from using their smartphones to pay for fares and has slashed mobile contactless limits to just £10 following a spike in debit and credit fraud across the network.
Ensignbus, which ploughs routes through Southend, Grays and Tilbury, says it suffered £10,000 worth of losses through contactless 'non-payments' over the last three months.
The reduced contactless limit affects all users trying to pay via iPhones and Android devices, while transactions from Monzo, Reveolut and ABN Amro apps have been blocked at the ticket machines.
An Ensignbus spokesman told the local paper: "As part of ongoing contactless fraud/non-payment issues, a number of banks are now blocked on our ticket machines.
"The most common which may affect you are Revolut, ABN Amro and Monzo.
"If you use any of these, please use an alternative bank card or cash."
Passengers are being advised to make more than one contactless payment transaction for tickets above the £10.00 limit. For season ticket purchases, the transit scheme has withdrawn contactless purchases completely and moved to a cash-only system.