Medellín Metro Contactless Payment: Tap Visa or Apple Pay

Quick answer: Since Wednesday, November 11, 2026, Medellín Metro contactless payment is live on Lines A and B. You can tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card, or a phone or smartwatch with Apple Pay or Google Pay, at the turnstile. You don’t need a Cívica card or a prior top-up, according to the Metro’s own announcement. Not yet on the Metrocables, tram or buses, and the fare per tap and foreign-card support are unconfirmed (details below).

What changed on November 11

The Metro calls the system pagos abiertos (open payments). It is an alliance between the Metro, Bancolombia, Visa and Mastercard, per the Metro’s press release.

Accepted payment methods, as reported:

• Contactless Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay, from a phone or smartwatch (Infobae).

How Medellín Metro contactless payment works at the turnstile

Per Infobae, the process is:

1. Hold your card or device to the reader at the access gate. Don’t insert it or type a PIN.
2. Wait for the validation before walking through.

There is no registration, form or advance top-up.

Metro general manager Tomás Elejalde told El Colombiano that it “se activa de forma automática”: if your card already works contactless, you can use it directly at the turnstile.

The initial rollout has one validator per access point. The Metro says it is installing more than 3,000 validators as part of the renewal of the Cívica collection system (Metro de Medellín), which is what will allow the expansion below.

What it means for visitors

The Metro frames open payments as an option for occasional users, visitors, and anyone who needs to get in without a Cívica card (Metro de Medellín). If you’re staying a few days, this removes the step of buying and loading a card. That matters more now: the Metro closed its traditional ticket windows (taquillas) at six stations on November 9, 2026: Floresta, Acevedo, Parque Berrío, Envigado, Ayurá and Itagüí (RCN Radio; La FM). Reports list about 290 automatic recharge machines in stations and 1,200+ outside Gana points as alternatives for Cívica top-ups (Minuto30). If you’re also heading to the airport, our guide to the El Encuentro–Sandiego airport bus hub and its Cívica fare covers where Cívica is still the payment you’ll need.

Two things are not confirmed in any source we found, so check before relying on them.

Practical advice: Bring a Cívica card, or know where a recharge machine is, as a backup on your first ride. Don’t count on buying one from a ticket window at the six stations above, since those windows are closed.

• Foreign-issued cards. The announcements say only “Visa or Mastercard” with contactless. None specifies the issuing country, and none confirms that foreign cards work.
• The fare charged. None of the three sources states what a card tap costs or how the charge appears. In particular, they don’t say whether it matches the fare you’d pay with Cívica. The Metro says Cívica keeps “differential fares” and integration benefits that open payments don’t offer, so expect the two options not to be identical. An earlier El Espectador report on a bus pilot cited a different fare figure; that was a limited pilot, not these Line A and B gates, so we don’t treat it as the current price.

Cívica isn’t going away

The Metro says open payments do not replace Cívica. The Cívica card keeps its personalized profile, differential fares and transfers between services, and station staff will keep helping with top-ups and guidance (Metro de Medellín; El Colombiano). If you’ll live in Medellín or ride daily, Cívica is still the better-supported choice for now.

What’s next

The Metro describes a gradual rollout. After Lines A and B, open payments are planned for the rest of the network, including the Metrocables, the tram and buses. Later phases would cover integrated and intermunicipal routes that use Cívica (Infobae). No dates were given in the sources. Until then, a card tap works only at Line A and Line B gates, not on the Metrocables, tram or buses.

Card payments are not entirely new to Medellín’s transit: El Espectador reported an earlier six-month pilot on the Metrosan bus route used by tourists visiting Comuna 13, developed with Credibanco, so November 11 is the start on Lines A and B specifically. Officials also said an adjustment period and education campaigns are expected (El Colombiano).

Where it works, and where it doesn’t (as of November 12):

• Works: Line A, Line B.
• Not yet: Metrocables, tram, buses.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a foreign credit card on the Medellín Metro? Not confirmed. The sources say only “Visa or Mastercard” contactless and do not name the issuing country.

How much does a contactless tap cost? None of the sources we found state the fare per tap, so check the Metro’s site or a station attendant.

Do I need a Cívica card to ride the Medellín Metro? Not for Lines A and B anymore: a contactless Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay tap works at the gate, per the Metro. Cívica is still needed on services where open payments haven’t arrived.

Which Metro lines accept contactless? Line A and Line B.

Does contactless work on the Metrocable? Not yet. Metrocables, the tram and buses are planned for later phases, with no dates given.

Related reading

Getting around Medellín? See how the Rionegro airport night runway closures affect early flights, how the Metro ran during the Medellín marathon, and the Túnel de Oriente night closures on the airport route.

Information is as of November 12, 2026, one day after launch. Rules and fares can change; confirm with the Metro de Medellín before traveling.