Transport for London says that in the four months since it started to accept contactless payment cards on London buses, it has registered more than one million journeys paid for with NFC. Latest figures also show that up to 10,000 people are using their contactless payment cards on the service every day.

The preferred system of payment for the London bus network remains the Oyster card, but it was decided that if passengers run out of credit or just need a quick journey and don't have the correct change then contactless payment was the best way to improve customers' experience of travelling in the capital.

Although banks are still rolling out their NFC-enabled cards to a majority of customers, the rise in the number of new Visa, Mastercard or American Express contactless payments received by the London bus network is significant. More than 1,000 new cards are being registered on the buses every week.

READ: How to use contactless credit and debit cards to pay on London buses

"Today’s milestone is further validation that contactless payment is a convenience consumers really appreciate," said Sandra Alzetta, senior vice-president at Visa Europe.

"We’re seeing a corresponding growth in the use of contactless cards across the UK: £33 million was spent on Visa contactless cards in February, and the number of transactions has grown by 25 per cent in the last quarter to reach 4.5 million every month."

Passengers are warned not to keep contactless cards in the same wallet as their Oyster card, however. If they are both presented at the same time, neither will be charged and it may delay a journey. If two contactless payment cards are presented at the same time, the wrong one may be charged.