Ez-link card holders can now earn NTUC LinkPoints when they pay for food and goods at specified stores as well as for taxi rides.
Under a tie-up between card issuer EZ-Link and NTUC Link, they will get one LinkPoint for every $2 spent using the ez-link card at the retail stores.
Launched yesterday, it is the second partnership by EZ-Link to help push Singapore's e-payment drive and expand the use of the card beyond transport.
The first tie-up was with e-payments giant Nets last week.
LinkPoints are popular with consumers who can use them to offset their purchases at FairPrice supermarkets or Caltex petrol kiosks, among other partners.
The points are issued by NTUC Link, the social enterprise managing the Plus! consumer loyalty rewards programme. Its two million members are the immediate target of the partnership, which seeks to boost the use of ez-link cards for retail purchases.
The two organisations believe that their tie-up answers Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call last August for more transactions to go cashless.
"Cashless systems will become more commonplace. We know that some people may have reservations, but cashless transactions can be easy, convenient and quick," said NTUC secretary-general Chan Chun Sing, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, when he launched the partnership yesterday.
There are more than 30,000 retail acceptance points for the ez-link card, including in ComfortDelGro taxis, 7-Eleven outlets and the Guardian pharmacy chain.
To earn LinkPoints, ez-link card holders have to link the two programmes. This can be done by downloading the EZ-Link app on mobile devices. After downloading, tap on the rewards tab and then the EZ-Link x Plus! banner. The linking will be done at the back-end.
Concession cards for senior citizens will be added to the rewards programme later.
In the second quarter of this year, customers at Cheers convenience stores can top up their ez-link card with the change they get when they pay in cash.
EZ-Link's tie-up with Nets last Wednesday allows holders of ez-link cards, including concession cards, to pay for food and drinks at about 1,000 hawker stalls from April. They can do so by tapping on Nets contactless payment terminals at these stalls.
