At the moment, passengers need to pay a £5 deposit when activating a new Oyster card. They then need to request this money back once they no longer use the card to have it returned.

But for Oyster cards issued from 23 February onwards, the £5 deposit will automatically be returned as pay-as-you-go credit one year after activating the card. This means you won't have to do anything to get the money back, and won't have to wait until you no longer need the card to get a refund.

It's bad news for those who only need an Oyster card for a short time though, as cards returned after less than a year won't have the £5 deposits refunded.

Transport for London (TfL) says it's making the change to cut the number of people returning their Oyster cards after just a few days or weeks, which will reduce plastic waste and operating costs. It says that of the nine million cards issued in the last year, seven million were not used after four weeks. It adds that those visiting London for a short time should instead pay for travel using a contactless bank card or mobile device.

See our Oyster card refunds guide for more info on claiming cash back.