You can top up your Swift Pay As You Go card whenever you need to, and share it with someone else.
How Swift Pay As You Go works
- Get a Swift Pay As You Go card: Order one online or get one in person.
- Add credit to your card: Top up before you travel. Your card can hold a maximum of £50.
- Use your card to buy tickets: The cost of your ticket is taken from your available credit.
On the bus
Tell the driver which ticket you want to buy, then place your Swift card on the reader. The cost of your ticket will be taken from the credit on your card.
On the tram
Before you board, choose the ticket you want to buy from a Metro ticket machine at the tram stop. Use your Swift card to pay, and the cost will be taken from your available credit.
You cannot use Swift Pay As You Go to buy train tickets.
Get a Swift Pay As You Go card
You can order a Swift Pay As You Go card online
You can also get a card in person from Swift or Metro ticket machines.
Top up your Swift card
You'll need to add credit to your card before you travel.
You can top up with between £10 and £50, but your card balance cannot exceed £50.
You can top up:
- online through your Swift account
- using the TfWM app
- at a participating Payzone store
- at a Swift or Metro ticket machine
Collect your top-up
If you add credit online or through the TfWM app, you'll need to collect it onto your Swift card before you travel.
You can do this using the TfWM app or at a Swift or Metro ticket machine.
Find out how to collect your top-up.
Set up auto top-up
You can set up auto top-up so you don't have to remember to add credit to your Swift card.
When your balance drops below £10, we'll automatically charge your bank card and add credit to your Swift card.
You can choose to add £10, £20, £30 or £40 each time.
To get started, sign in to your Swift account, select your Swift Pay As You Go card and follow the steps to set up auto top-up.
If you're setting up auto top-up on an existing card, you'll need to collect the auto top-up setup onto your card once. After that, your card will be topped up automatically.
If you set up auto top-up when ordering a new card, it will arrive ready to use.
You can change your top-up amount or cancel auto top-up at any time in your Swift account.
Pay As You Go on concessionary passes
If you have an English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) pass, you can use Pay As You Go credit to buy tickets when your free travel is not valid, such as before 9:30am.
Pay As You Go is already enabled on your pass, so you don't need to set it up.
To add credit, sign in to your Swift account, select your concessionary pass and choose 'top up'.
Looking for automatic fare capping?
If you'd rather travel without choosing and buying a ticket each time, Swift Go may be a better option.
With Swift Go, your fares are calculated automatically based on your journeys, with fare caps applied where eligible.