Under a new system rolled out Wednesday, Dec. 10, almost every transit system in the Bay Area will allow riders to pay by tapping a credit or debit card.

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But Clipper payment — by plastic card or on one’s phone — will still be accepted, and there are reasons you might want to keep using it.

What is the new system?

The tap-and-pay ability newly adopted by Caltrain and most other train, bus and ferry agencies in the Bay Area allows riders to pay fares with a chip-enabled credit or debit card rather than the prepaid Clipper. BART made a similar change in August.

Accepted payment sources are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Each rider must pay with their own card or device. Where an exit tap is required for a Clipper card, it wi

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