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Fare payment via Mastercard has room for improvement

TransitLink’s Account-Based Ticketing trial is a step towards making public transport more convenient (Paying fares via Mastercard: Pilot to begin on March 20; March 1).

TransitLink’s Account-Based Ticketing trial is a step towards making public transport more convenient (Paying fares via Mastercard: Pilot to begin on March 20; March 1).

It allows Mastercard contactless cards to be registered and used as a means of fare payment, removing the need for the top-up arrangements when using EZ-Link or Nets FlashPay cards. Bus and train fares are processed and charged to the credit or debit card instead.

This can be enhanced, however, by implementing certain changes. While the fare is displayed when tapping out with EZ-Link or Nets FlashPay cards, it is currently not shown when using Account-Based Ticketing and can be viewed only when one logs into one’s account.

This prevents Account-Based Ticketing from being better than EZ-Link and Nets FlashPay cards and may potentially reduce the adoption rate. Furthermore, the account has an automatic logout for security reasons and requires a login every time.

I understand security is a priority, but it is better to give users more convenient options for checking fares to ensure their accuracy.

One is email notifications of each day’s fares, like what Grab and Uber do for every trip. Another way would be similar to how we can check account balances without logging in, using apps like DBS’ Digibank and its slide-to-peek feature.

Both options could be turned off by default but changed later in the settings, or users could be asked for their preferences when registering or logging in for the first time.

Users would then not feel as if they have gained the convenience of not needing to top up their card at the expense of checking their fares easily.

Also, as part of Singapore’s Smart Nation efforts, TransitLink could look into allowing fare payment via Android or Apple Pay in future, so that people who want to can pay using their smart devices.

If these options are made available, Account-Based Ticketing would be adopted widely, and more progress would be made in our efforts to become a Smart Nation.

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