SINGAPORE - A free exchange of Nets FlashPay cards for Nets Prepaid cards that was originally due to start on Jan 19 at public transport ticket offices has been postponed “until further notice”.
The planned exchange is part of a move by the authorities to phase out Nets FlashPay and some adult ez-link cards for public transport fare payments from June in preparation for a transition to SimplyGo, an account-based ticketing platform for bus and rail trips.
The free exchange was to have taken place between Jan 19 and July 18 at SimplyGo ticket offices in MRT stations and bus interchanges. As part of the exchange, the value in a Nets FlashPay card will be refunded, and the card holder will get a free Nets Prepaid card.
But in an update at midnight on Jan 18 to an earlier Facebook post, Nets, a payment firm, said: “Please be informed that the card exchange service for Nets FlashPay card provided at SimplyGo ticket offices is temporarily unavailable until further notice.” It did not state when the exchange would become available.
When The Straits Times visited the SimplyGo ticket office at Tampines MRT station at 8am on Jan 19, an employee said the exchange had been postponed until further notice.
Staff were informed of the change only on the morning of Jan 19, ST was told.
The exchange was announced after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Jan 9 that from June 1, commuters must pay for their adult bus and train fares with a Nets Prepaid card, an ez-link card that has been updated to being SimplyGo-compatible, a contactless bank card, or a credit or debit card added to a mobile wallet.
The move does not affect passengers using concession cards, including seniors and students.
Responding to ST’s queries on Jan 19, Nets said FlashPay card holders may continue using their cards for public transport and topping them up at ticketing machines until June 1.
It did not state the reasons for the delay in the free exchange, and whether this would affect the transition schedule for FlashPay card holders who use them to pay for public transport trips.
Nets declined to reveal the number of FlashPay cards used to pay for public transport, citing commercial sensitivities.
ST has also contacted LTA for comment.
During ST’s visits to two MRT stations and a bus interchange on Jan 19, notices about the postponement were seen at some ticket offices.
From 9.45am to 10.30am at Tampines MRT station, three people turned up at the ticket office to exchange their FlashPay cards.
It was a similar picture elsewhere.
Between 1.20pm and 2pm at City Hall MRT stop, three passengers tried to exchange their Nets FlashPay cards. Airport employee Yan Naing, 49, and his wife Sanda Lwin, 50, a manager at an employment office in Bedok, were among them.
This was the couple’s second attempt on Jan 19 to exchange their cards, after being told at Novena MRT station that the free exchange had been postponed. They are Myanmar nationals who have worked here for more than 15 years.
“We were going to Peninsula Plaza, so we came to City Hall to try exchanging our cards, in case they (allowed it at City Hall),” said Ms Sanda Lwin.
She hopes there would eventually be more places for them to exchange their cards, which would also make it easier for other passengers.
Mr Yan Naing said: “I have worked in Singapore for 16 years, and I have always used my Nets card (for public transport). I don’t understand why they want to change the policy.”
After it is phased out, the Nets FlashPay card will no longer be accepted for public transport payments. But it can still be used to pay for shopping and motoring expenses such as carpark and Electronic Road Pricing charges.
