Cashless
payment is daunting for people not used to payment via credit cards or stored
value cards. However, in Singapore, most people have been going cashless with
the popular use of EZ-Link for public transportation for years.
To
support Singapore Government’s call for a cashless system, the two partnerships
between EZ-Link and NTUC Social Enterprises Link and Cheers aim at making
cashless transactions attractive and fuss-free.
Unveiled
on 1 Feb, at the joint launch event at Tampines Mall, the two partnerships are:
(1) rewards cashless payment and (2) convenient top-up at Cheers convenient
stores.
Mr
Chan Chun Sing, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office and Secretary-General of NTUC,
said, “Cashless systems will
become more commonplace. We know that some people may have reservations, but
cashless transactions can be easy, convenient and quick. As such, we hope that
this partnership between NTUC Social Enterprises and EZ-Link will not only
generate greater awareness about the benefits but enable more people to enjoy a
seamless experience when going cashless and making purchases.”
By allowing
people to use their EZ-Link cards to pay for items at participating merchants,
facilitate top-up at convenient locations, and rewarding cashless payments with
LinkPoints, the collaboration helps encourage people to adopt cashless payment
and improve their experience.
Rewards programme for cashless payment
Under
the NTUC Link-EZ Link partnership rewards cashless payment programme, EZ-Link
holder can link their EZ-Link cards with their Plus! Cards to earn LinkPoints
when making cashless payments. The loyalty programme covers more than 30,000
acceptance points in Singapore, including hawker centre.
LinkPoints
are available for every S$2 spent and customers will get a chance to win
LinkPoints at monthly lucky draws from now till July 2018. LinkPoints can then be
redeemed for rewards or offset purchases at Plus!
Partner outlets including NTUC FairPrice supermarkets.
This
rewards partnership and the launch promotion aim at incentivising citizens to
go cashless. Using a single digital app, EZ-Link and Plus! members will be able
to enjoy an integrated experience to access rewards from both accounts.
According
to Mr Sandeep Bhalla, CEO of NTUC Link, the organisation “is excited to partner
with EZ-Link to give customers more value back for their daily commute. Further
through this collaboration we will promote a cashless ecosystem for Singapore
by enabling customers to get LinkPoints when using their EZ-Link card to pay
for purchases.”
To
ensure that Singapore’s cashless journey is inclusive, this partnership
programme will also be progressively rolled out to concession cards for senior
citizens.
Greater convenience to top-up EZ-Link with
loose change at Cheers stores
EZ-Link
card has been a major payment mode on public transport in Singapore. According
to Mr Nicholas Lee, CEO of EZ-Link, “EZ-Link has enabled Singaporeans to
integrate cashless payments into their daily routines since 16 years ago.”
To
provide greater convenience for EZ-Link Cardholders and broaden the cards’ use,
EZ-Link is collaborating with Cheers, the convenience store arm of NTUC
FairPrice, to allow customers to top-up their EZ-Link card with the change they
receive upon purchases made in cash at Cheers.
According
to Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC FairPrice, the initiative will enhance the
shopping experience, speed up transaction time, and optimise business
operations.
This
initiative will start in the second quarter of this year.
This
collaboration is not the first of its kind to promote cashless payments in
Singapore. As reported
earlier, two local payment giants EZ-Link and NETS announced in a joint
statement their first interoperable payments system which e-payments can be
made by EZ-Link and concession cards through all NETS terminals at hawker
centres in Singapore.
