Muni, Caltrain, and all the public transit services that take Clipper will accept credit or debit card taps for rides in just a week, as paying with credit or debit won’t just be a BART thing anymore starting this Wednesday.It was four months ago when BART started accepting debit cards and credit cards for fare payment instead of just Clipper Cards. They referred to this as “open payments,” and it seemed a glorious upgrade, but the upgrade did not apply to any other Bay Area public transit system that takes Clipper. The Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Clipper Card program director Jason Weinstein explained at a July meeting that “After evaluating the benefits and considerations, it was decided that we’d try to roll out open payments at one operator, and that the most impactful rollout could be at BART.”Yeah, but we were promised this capability way back in the summer of 2023! Well, the day is now upon us. Or rather, that day will be upon us this coming Wednesday December 10.Next generation Clipper, or Clipper 2.0, rolls out Dec. 10 with improved features like discounted transfers and instant fund availability. Here’s how to get set up. https://t.co/RRR07Rvl2Q— KQED (@KQED) December 3, 2025 KQED has a nice article today on the Clipper Card 2.0 rollout, and yes there are a few lovely upgrades mentioned: your funds will be available instantly no matter how you add money to your card, there are some discounts when you switch transit systems on the same ride, and there's a new “family plan” where parents can manage their kids’ accounts. But the big enchilada is the fact that you’ll be able to use credit or debt cards on Muni, Caltrain, and any of the 24 transit agencies that take Clipper. “Bay Area transit riders have been able to use a chip-enabled credit or debit card to pay for BART since August, but beginning on December 10, all Bay Area transit agencies that accept Clipper (Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, VTA, the list goes on …) will now also accept chip-enabled credit or debit cards as a form of payment,” according to KQED.Changes coming Dec. 10th: • Pay fares with your bank card or mobile wallet • Track your trip history • Manage all cards in one app Learn more about what’s coming at https://t.co/pMzD0mG8c2 .— Caltrain (@Caltrain) December 3, 2025 We have seen no formal announcements from Muni, but an SFMTA representative confirmed to SFist that they would indeed be going live with this feature on December 10. Meanwhile, Caltrain announced the change in the tweet from this afternoon seen above, and also on their website.That site says that effective December 10, you can “Use major contactless payment cards Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover — as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly.”Be aware, however, that any student or senior discounts will not be applied if you’re using a credit or debit card to tap on. You will still need to use your Clipper Card to get those discounts. Related: BART Will Finally Let You Tap to Enter With a Credit Card or Debit Card, Starting Wednesday [SFist]Image: SFMTA ...read more read less