Reader Roy Chia has a purple Senior Citizen Concession Card, which is automatically topped up via Giro, and will be issued with a new PAssion Silver Concession Card. He wrote in to ask if the transfer of value and Giro arrangement, from the old card to the new one, would be done automatically.

Reporter Priscilla Goy checked with TransitLink.

The PAssion Silver Concession Card combines the current purple Senior Citizen Concession Card for public transport and the black-and- white PAssion ez-link Card into a single card to make it easier for seniors to stay active and be engaged in the community.

It is free for every Singaporean aged 60 and above. Launched last month, the initiative is led by the health and transport ministries and People's Association (PA).

Holders of the new card will enjoy discounted rates for PA community clubs' courses, activities and facilities, and at merchants such as Cold Storage. They will also get concession fares on public transport.

TransitLink said customers who have a Senior Citizen Concession Card that is topped up automatically via Giro will need to reapply for the auto top-up service for their PAssion Silver Concession Card if they want to continue with the service.

To activate the new card, a customer would have to take both the new and old cards to a TransitLink ticket office or concession card replacement office.

A customer service officer would then file a "deferred refund" on the remaining value on the old card. This amount would be credited into the customer's linked bank account within 14 days.

The auto top-up service on the old card would also be terminated.

Customers can go to any general ticketing machine at MRT stations to reapply to have their new cards topped up automatically via Giro. DBS and POSB are the only participating banks for this service.