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You can now use your phone to pay for bus and mrt fares, but there’s a catch. (EZ Link NFC)

2016-04-01 , 10:22 am

Last Updated on 2020-02-17 , 4:22 pm

Reader: Simi is EZ Link NFC?

I’ll get to that, dear reader.

Say goodbye to conventional methods of tapping the card onto the card reader whenever you board the bus, because technology has done its thing again. Forgot to bring you EZ-Link card out? No worries, you can now use your phone to pay for travelling fares. BUT, this is (sadly) only available to 19 Android models from Samsung, LG and Sony.

Singapore has adopted the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology where you are able to use your smartphones to make payments when taking the public transport. Yes, I’m talking about the EZ Link NFC Sim. While this might not be available for iPhone users (yet), rest assured that more NFC-enabled mobile phones would be coming up soon.

This NFC payment was a joint release between Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). They did a trial back in August 2014 to February 2016. In about 6 months, approximately 1000 users made more than 30,000 transactions.

So if you’re one of those holding the selected NFC-enabled devices, lucky you! You’ll be able to use the EZ Link NFC sim! To activate this, you will have to first get a new SIM card. All three service providers—Singtel, Starhub and M1—are retailing the SIM card at S$37.45.

Once you’ve installed the SIM card, turn on the NFC function on your mobile phone and you’re basically good to go! Head over to any Add Value Machines to top up your card value, or mobile savvy people can simply download the EZ-Link application, which is available on the Google Play Store. With this app, you’re able to track your transaction history and card balance. How cool is that?

Aside from paying for your transportation, you can also use the compatible NFC phones and SIM cards to make payments at any EZ-link acceptance points island-wide. Seems like your phone will be the only accessory you need in the future!

From Tuesday (29 March), M1 was the first provider to offer the NFC SIM Card, and as a promotion, the $9.10 service activation fee will be waived until 30 April 2016 (while stocks last).

Starhub will join in the launch on 2 April, where you can buy the NFC SIM card or replace your old SIM card with the NFC SIM card for $26.75. The NFC EZ-Link purse fee of $5 will be waived as well.

Singtel will only start selling the NFC SIM Cards in late April 2016, and you will be able to purchase the NFC SIM cards at $37.45. The $5 registration fee will be waived as well.

Below are the phones compatible for the NFC launch.

You can now use your phone to pay for bus and mrt fares, but there’s a catch. (EZ Link NFC)

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