Top up adult ez-link cards remotely via apps
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Commuters can now top up their ez-link cards remotely through mobile applications.
This dispenses with the need for top-up machines, and will allow users to apply for automatic top-ups, and to cancel lost cards within 30 minutes.
Commuters can also top up the cards of family members, and track their transport spending through the application.
The cards can be managed by users through the ez-link application or TransitLink's SimplyGo application, and can be updated at ticketing machines.
In a statement yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) described the move as part of efforts with ez-link to make commuting more convenient.
In 2019, LTA set up an account-based ticketing system allowing commuters to use bank cards and mobile wallets to pay for public transport, as opposed to only having a card-based ticketing system - which relied on every commuter carrying a separate, purpose-made card.
A new or updated ez-link card will now also function on this account-based system.
The mobile application can also be used to block further transactions in the event that cards are misplaced.
In a separate statement yesterday, EZ-Link CEO Nicholas Lee said: "Together with our recent ez-link wallet launch and re-branding, the new account-based ez-link cards are part of our broader transformation road map to strengthen our digital ecosystem."
The large-scale roll-out of the update to account-based cards follows a pilot for the system last September in which about 3,000 selected commuters were issued with the updated cards.
EZ-Link said that more than 80 per cent of the participants in the pilot indicated a positive experience.
The ease of topping up the cards for themselves and their families were picked as the favourite new features.
Updating an existing ez-link card to an account-based card will be free, while the cost of a new account-based card will be $12, including $7 of stored value. Only adult ez-link cards are eligible for this update now.
A pilot for the application of this technology to concession cards, including those issued to students and seniors, will start later this year.
