~Transport for London~  is to pilot a new ‘fastload’ service for Oyster cardholders later this year, which would cut the period needed for funds transferred over the internet to just 10 minutes.
Currently passengers must top up their Oyster cards online or over the telephone before 11pm in order to travel the following morning.
TfL’s systems integration manager Brian Dobson told a conference last week that the possibility of allowing mobile phone-based funds transfer to the smartcards was a longer-term aim.