Singapore e-payment provider to debut contactless debit card

New card will allow stored value top-ups to be done at most payment terminals
By Melissa Chua
13 Apr 2009

SINGAPORE, 13 APRIL 2009 – Singapore’s electronics payment provider Network for Electronic Transfers (better known as NETS), has announced plans to launch a contactless stored value payment card which allows for automatic cash value top-ups.

The new card, which can be used to pay for road tolls, public transport fares, retail purchases and bills, is expected to provide greater convenience to consumers in Singapore who hold deposit accounts in DBS Bank, Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), United Overseas Bank (UOB) and Standard Chartered Bank.

NETS’s current stored value card offering, the cashcard, is not contactless, does not allow for automatic top-ups, and cannot be used to pay for public transport.

Anytime, anywhere

According to NETS, the stored value of the new contactless card can be topped up, with money debited from the consumers’ bank account, anytime a transaction is performed.

Top-ups can be performed at retail points with the entering of a personal identification number (or PIN). Consumers who wish to have their cards automatically topped up at other payment points, such as road gantries, will need to apply at their bank for the feature to be enabled.

Small value payments

The new contactless payment card will also be used for what the company terms ‘small value payments’, meaning payment amounts which fall below S$20 (US$13.18). Selected snack shops, food courts and hawker centres around the island have been equipped with the contactless payment terminals. Consumers need only enter a PIN in order for a transaction to be performed.

NETS is currently looking to sign up more retail outlets for such a service.

Transport

NETS CEO, Poh Mui Hoon, expects the new contactless card to capture about 50 per cent of the public transport fare payment market, currently dominated by competitor EZ-Link.

The new contactless payment card will go on trial in May, limited to a select group of consumers. A larger trial in July will determine when the card will become publicly available.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello Kitty: The Funny, The Weird, And The Horrifying

Image
Source: Hello Kitty: The Funny, The Weird, And The Horrifying Thanks to the marketing skills of Japanese company Sanrio, Hello Kitty’s cute-cat character has been going strong for 35 years and has become an internationally-recognized brand. One of the most diverse and unpredictable places in the entire universe, the world of Hello Kitty encompasses a vast collection of strange products that dazzle the mind and serve as material for an extensive list of noteworthy weirdness. Since there are thousands of Hello Kitty products in just about every category imaginable, it’s difficult to find the weirdest of the weird. Furthermore, many Hello Kitty pictures floating around the Internet are actually photoshopped fakes, so it takes some time to figure out what’s real and what’s not. Still, I managed to scrape together this list of examples that appear to be legitimate products. So, hold on to your seats and get ready to be entertained, disturbed, and maybe even sexually abused
Read more

The Most Enlightening Speech: What's Better Than...

Manila, Philippines -- This speech was delivered during the commencement exercises of the UP* graduating class of 2003 by Mr. Butch Jimenez, the youngest commencement speaker in the university's history. He once dreamed of doing so, and it came true!!! :-) Students wished they had a pencil or paper to jot down notes during the speech; some even wished they had a tape recorder. Some members of the faculty found his speech practical, refreshing, and funny! * UP = University of the Philippines Butch Jimenez, head of PLDT's media and strategic communications department, delivered this speech at the UP Diliman Class 2003 commencement exercise. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What's better than...? By Butch Jimenez Better than being negative As college students, you're just about to set sail into the real world. As you prepare for the battleground of life, you'll hear many speeches, read tons of books and get miles of advice telling
Read more

Dr Lee Wei Ling - Why I choose to remain single

Sun, Apr 05, 2009 - The Straits Times My parents have a loving relationship, but I knew I could not live my life around a husband By Lee Wei Ling My father became prime minister in 1959, when I was just four years old. Inevitably, most people know me as Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter. My every move, every word, is scrutinised and sometimes subject to criticism. One friend said I lived in a glass house. After my father’s recent comment on my lack of culinary skills, another observed: ‘You live in a house without any walls.’ Fortunately, I am not easily embarrassed. As long as my conscience is clear, what other people say of me does not bother me. Indeed, I am open about my life since the more I try to conceal from the public, the wilder the speculation becomes. My father said of my mother two weeks ago: ‘My wife was…not a traditional wife. She was educated, a professional woman… We had Ah Mahs, reliable, professional, dependable. (My wife) came back every lunchtime to have lunch with the
Read more