The SafeEntry check-in to public venues will become a simpler and faster process from April 19 with a new tap-in system.

The SafeEntry Gateway Box was launched yesterday at Nex mall in Serangoon Central by the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO). It was trialled at the mall from Feb 15.

To check in, visitors with the TraceTogether app or TraceTogether tokens can tap their devices on the gateway box, which is slightly larger than a smartphone.

Alternatively, an operator of a venue, such as a supermarket or large shop, can download an updated version of the SafeEntry (Business) App on his phone and use the phone, instead of the gateway box, for visitor check-ins.

The SafeEntry Gateway system is being planned for a roll-out at selected crowded venues such as shopping malls, large standalone retail stores, cinemas, hospitals, polyclinics and Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) venues hosting more than 100 participants.

Existing SafeEntry check-in methods using the QR codes and a visitor's NRIC will still be used at these places.

The Government has identified venues with high visitor traffic that need to implement the SafeEntry Gateway system from April 19.

They include locations inside crowded malls. For example, in the case of a cinema located in a shopping mall, both the cinema and the mall will need to have the SafeEntry Gateway system.

The gateway box works by exchanging Bluetooth signals with the TraceTogether app on a phone or token within a 25cm range.

By holding the TraceTogether app or token near it, the box will beep and show a green light.

The SafeEntry (Business) App works in a similar way, and will also beep and display a green screen.

Users of the TraceTogether app have to open the app to check in.

Visitors can currently still use the TraceTogether app on devices and their tokens, and scan their NRICs to check in at venues.

Those with older phones can also scan the SafeEntry codes with the Singpass mobile app or phone cameras.

Operators of venues the Government has identified as requiring the SafeEntry Gateway Box can get up to four for free.

If they need more, they can appeal to the Government Technology Agency, which developed the gateway system.

Alternatively, operators can download the free SafeEntry (Business) App from the Apple App Store or Google Play store.

The gateway system can also tell when TraceTogether tokens are running low on battery power. Users will find they cannot successfully check in when tapping on the box.

From next month, token replacement stations will be set up at some venues where SafeEntry Gateway has been rolled out.

Users can also get their tokens replaced for free, if the battery is flat or the device is faulty, at any community club.

The new SafeEntry Gateway Box received good feedback when it was first trialled at three entrances at Downtown East from early October until December last year.

The SafeEntry Gateway is a type of SafeEntry check-in using only TraceTogether.

SNDGO previously said TraceTogether-only check-ins will be implemented "only after everyone has had a chance to collect a token in their constituencies, and a reasonable period of national distribution is achieved".

SNDGO said yesterday that more than three million people have collected their TraceTogether tokens.

For now, public venues are not required to implement TraceTogether-only SafeEntry, except for events or businesses that are part of ongoing pilots, such as cinemas.

By using TraceTogether to enter a venue, the authorities can ensure that if a Covid-19 case is identified, close contacts in those locations can be alerted.

With both the TraceTogether and SafeEntry programmes, the authorities now take 1½ days or less to identify and quarantine close contacts of Covid-19 patients, down from the previous average of four days.

The SafeEntry Gateway "check-in experience has proven to be quick and convenient for users of TraceTogether token and app even during peak hours", said a spokesman for Nex mall.

Mr Wong Yock Luan, who works in the caregiving sector, said the new SafeEntry Gateway check-in system is convenient for TraceTogether app or token users.

"But I would still prefer to be given a choice on how I want to check in," added the 59-year-old, who currently checks in using the token or by scanning QR codes with his phone.

For more details on the SafeEntry Gateway system, visit http://support.safeentry.gov.sg/

Correction note: This story has been edited for clarity.