For some time now, the roadmap for the modernization of Metro de Madrid has included the possibility of paying with a bank card directly at the turnstiles, a feature that now has a specific implementation date:“Starting next June, we will be able to pay with a bank card at all Metro de Madrid turnstiles,” announced the Regional Minister of Housing, Transportation, and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, this Tuesday at a breakfast briefing organized by Europa Press.
This new feature, “an option that was unthinkable just a couple of decades ago,” will be rolled out gradually across the subway network’s 303 stations through more than 400 new smart turnstiles, equipped with card readers and the necessary software to provide the service. It will accept cards from various banks, including Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, and American Express.
At stations without new turnstiles, there will be at least two turnstiles where bank card payments are accepted, even if they are older models.
During his remarks announcing this measure, Rodrigo noted that public transportation must be “on par with a dynamic, demanding, and constantly evolving society such as Madrid’s.” The measure, incidentally, is funded by European funds from the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Facility.
When will it be possible to pay with a bank card at the turnstiles?
The goal is for this new payment system to be available in time for Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Madrid, which will take place from June 6 to 12, 2026.
A change in Metro de Madrid fares
Another upcoming change regarding subway mobility involves the implementation of a new fare calculation system based on Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) technology, which is already in use in other cities such as London.
In this way, instead of paying a fare in advance, passengers will have a virtual profile linked to a card, and after a certain period of time—taking into account the trips made— the fare to be paid will be calculated using the cheapest possible fare combination.