Transit Link has announced on Thursday (29 December) that commuters can use their credit and debit cards to top up their EZ-Link or Nets FlashPay cards at any General Ticketing Machines islandwide starting from 1 January.
It stated that there will be no additional charges for top-up using Singapore-issued cards. For foreign-issued cards, while there will be no convenience fees levied, prevailing foreign exchange rates will apply based on the respective card-issuing banks.
Transit Link said that the maximum daily payment limit will also be increased from the current S$40 to S$100 per credit or debit card per day — meaning less frequent top-ups needed.
It is also extending the cashless mode of payment amid an increase in commuters using such methods to top up their EZ-Link and Nets FlashPay cards.
Currently, only commuters with Singapore-issued UOB Visa, UOB MasterCard and UOB JCB cards can top up their transport cards at the General Ticketing Machines, which was part of a trial launched on 1 July this year.
Before the trial with UOB cards, cash top-up accounted for 63 per cent of total top-up value at the General Ticketing Machines
While, cashless payment via NETS, the only cashless mode available then, made up about 37 per cent of top-up value.
TransitLink said that the number of transactions using credit/debit cards rose steadily from 800 on the first day to an average of 1,800 transactions per day in November since the trial was launched.
Cashless transactions using credit or debit cards in the same month amounted to over S$1.5 million, accounting for 40 per cent of top-up value, representing a 3 percentage point shift.
Mr Lee Yuen Hee, TransitLink’s chief executive officer, said, “We are very encouraged by the results of the pilot launch and have therefore decided to proceed with the extension to all local and foreign-issued credit and debit cards.”
“By expanding the coverage, both local and foreign commuters will find it more convenient to top-up their Cepas cards without having to use cash. This is part and parcel of our drive towards making Singapore a cashless society. We hope to see cashless top-up increase by another 10 per cent by the end of 2017,” he added.