Transport for London is engaged in talks with telcos in the United Kingdom to enable commuters to pay for bus and train fares using NFC-enabled smartphones, according to a report in the Financial Times.

London's transportation company last week announced it decided to ban cash payments on buses because some 99 percent of riders paid fares using the Oyster Card, prepaid tickets, contactless payment cards or concessionary tickets. The agency said in a statement most tourists use an Oyster card or prepaid tickets to use the bus system.

Transport for London's potential partnership with telcos would result in a pilot to enable fare payments with phone instead of Oyster cards, according to the Financial Times.

"We are doing some testing to see how the devices perform on the system and welcome any new payment technologies that meet the relevant industry standards and enable sufficiently fast transactions speeds,” Shashi Verma, director of customer experience for the agency, told the Financial Times.