Soon, You Can Pay for Your Rides with Your Phone in Public Transport Because #Cashless

By
Boon Hun
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ll know that going cashless is the next thing the government wants to do.

And it’s been all over the net.

Singapore must go cashless! Razer CEO approached PM Lee on Twitter for e-transaction system! LTA going to stop 19 stations’ passenger service counter from offering cash top up!

And of course, my personal favourite: China is doing it already! Why aren’t we?!

Yeah, you get what I mean.

So what’s the next step forward for this grand vision of a cashless economy?

LTA to trial payment for public transport via Apple Pay, Android Pay & Samsung Pay

Image: channelnewsasia.com

It was reported on 11 Sep that soon, some commuters are able to take their bus and mrt rides without using an EZ-Link card.

Just tap your phone on the gantry and you’re good to go.

From the first quarter of 2018, LTA will be trialling Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay as part of their account-based ticketing (ABT) collaboration with MasterCard.

And if everything goes well, the trial will include Visa and NETS cards from June 2018.

Commuters who signed up for the trial will be able to board public transport without the use of an EZ-Link card.

If you want to be a part of the trial, you can sign up here.

Actually, paying with your phone has existed since earlier this year

Okay, fine, this isn’t some grand new invention.

This trial was actually launched in Mar 2017 and given a six-month trial period.

But back then, it wasn’t very convenient.

In order to enjoy the service back then, users have to purchase an NFC SIM from their telco and it was limited to selected Android phone models.

Part of LTA’s Challenge To Push Cashless Public Transport System

Yes, cashless. That word again.

Seems like LTA is determined to stamp out cash in their transactions.

This is the second push for a cashless initiative after stopping cash top up services at 11 stations’ passenger service counters.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said they wanted LTA and TransitLink to make ABT and electronic top-ups so convenient commuters will prefer to go cashless.

And the best part?

Commuters who really need help to transit to a cashless payment system will belong to the minority.

Of course, measures will still be put into place to help them lah.

You know what I’m thinking? Damn. Don’t need to buy the Gudetama card liao.

Image: ezlink,com.sg

That and if your phone dies, it’s GGWP.

Of course, there are over 200 free mobile charging points around Singapore provided by Singapore Powers (SP) but I guess the queue is going to be horrible.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Feature Image: channelnewsasia.com

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Boon Hun
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