PRESTO System Upgrade: what you need to know about balance requirements
March 2, 2026
We're hard at work on an upgrade to our system that will offer more flexibility, ease and convenience for customers across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and Ottawa.
With this upgrade, registered PRESTO card taps will now only be accepted if you have enough funds to pay your full local transit fare. This change will be rolled out in stages over the next few weeks along with a system upgrade. You can check your PRESTO account to see if your card has been updated.
The good news is there are plenty of ways to quickly and easily load your PRESTO card if you're low on funds.
- You can use the PRESTO app's convenient "Load Now" feature to load money to your PRESTO card on the spot.
- Setting up Autoload means you will always have the funds you need to travel with PRESTO. Autoload automatically and instantly loads funds to your PRESTO card whenever your balance falls below a minimum balance you set.
- If you don't want to set up Autoload, you can use the PRESTO app to set a low balance notification in the 'settings' area of your PRESTO Account.