Forum: Linking recycling refunds to ez-link cards feels like a step backwards

The introduction of the Beverage Container Return Scheme, which lets members of the public tap their ez-link cards to receive a 10-cent refund for recycling drink bottles and cans (

Public can use ez-link card to get 10-cent refund when recycling drink bottles, cans from April

; Jan 30), raises an important policy question beyond environmental sustainability: Why is the ez-link card being positioned as the primary refund mechanism, when Singapore’s broader payment ecosystem has been moving away from stored-value cards?

Over the past few years, the Government and the Land Transport Authority have actively encouraged commuters to shift towards SimplyGo, bank cards and mobile payments for public transport. A large and growing share of commuters now use contactless bank cards or phones rather than physical ez-link cards.

Even with the decision to continue supporting legacy ez-link cards after public feedback, the long-term direction has clearly been towards account-based, digital and platform-agnostic payment systems. Anchoring a national recycling refund scheme primarily to ez-link cards feels misaligned with the direction of travel.

While the authorities have said that “other digital payment methods will be announced”, the sequencing itself is puzzling. If bank cards and mobile wallets are already widely used, intuitive and scalable, why not design the scheme around these from the start? Many users may not even carry ez-link cards regularly any more. Making ez-link cards the default risks creating unnecessary friction for a scheme that depends on mass public participation to succeed.

More fundamentally, this points to a lack of visible alignment in long-term payment strategy across government agencies. Transport agencies push digital, account-based payments; environmental schemes rely on legacy stored-value infrastructure; other agencies promote QR and PayNow ecosystems. Each initiative may make sense in isolation, but collectively they create fragmentation and confusion for citizens.

If Singapore is serious about both digital transformation and citizen-centric service design, there needs to be clearer coordination on a unified, future-ready national payment framework that spans transport, sustainability programmes, public services and everyday transactions.

Environmental goals are important, but so is coherent policy design. Without alignment, we risk building well-intentioned schemes on outdated platforms that do not reflect how Singaporeans actually live, pay and move today.

Martin Lee Ming Han