New free service EZ-Pay allows ERP payment without cards in IUs

A NEW Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) payment service launched on Tuesday aims to eliminate the need for motorists to constantly remember to have stored/value cards such as ez-link cards in their in-vehicle units (IUs).

With this free service, called EZ-Pay, motorists only need to link their IUs to their credit cards and can then drive through ERP gantries without having cards in their IUs, and not fear having to incur penalties.

Charges will then be deducted from the linked credit card for each transaction. Users can then log into their online EZ-Pay accounts or refer to their credit card statements for details of each transaction. But if there is still a stored-value card in the IU, charges will be first deducted from it.

The company that is launching this service is EZ-Link, the cashless payment systems provider that also produces ez-link cards.

Touted to be Singapore's first free ERP post-paid payments system, EZ-Pay is first provided to Citibank credit card holders. DBS and POSB are expected to come on board early next year, EZ-Link chief Nicholas Lee told The Business Times.

The firm is not limiting the use of EZ-Pay to ERP payment either. It can also be used for car-park payments.

Next month, a pilot will start in Jurong Point. Motorists can similarly drive out of the mall's car park with their empty IUs and the fee will be charged accordingly.

"This pilot is important as we can then gauge the customer experience, then see how we can roll it out to other malls and commercial buildings," added Mr Lee. "We will also approach HDB (Housing and Development Board) and URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) for use in their car parks at a later date; there are different concerns there."

EZ-Link is looking at introducing EZ-Pay to retail and F&B outlets, too.

EZ-Pay also has a free corporate option for companies looking to have their fleet of vehicles under the same account.

To obtain an EZ-Pay account, motorists can visit www.ezlink.com.sg for a one-time registration with their vehicle number and Citibank card details.

The user will then receive an SMS within one working day and he or she will have to reply to confirm the vehicle IU number. Upon confirmation, an email with the effective start date of EZ-Pay for the vehicle will be sent to the user within four days.