Credit, debit cards accepted for EZ-Link, Nets FlashPay top-up from Jan 1

From Jan 1, commuters can use their credit and debit cards to top up their EZ-Link or Nets FlashPay cards at any General Ticketing Machines islandwide, announced TransitLink on Thursday (Dec 29).

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.

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.

TransitLink said it is 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. This was part of a trial launched on July 1 this year.

Before July’s 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.

Since the launch, TransitLink said “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”.

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.

“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.” said Mr Lee Yuen Hee, TransitLink’s chief executive officer.

He hopes both local and foreign commuters will find it more convenient to top up their transport cards as a result, and cashless top-up will increase by another 10 percentage points by the next of 2017.