With Top & Tap, a top-up service via OCBC Mobile Banking and EZ-Online, consumers can enjoy the convenience of adding funds to their ez-link cards anytime, anywhere.
Issued By: EZ-Link Pte Ltd, OCBC Bank
SINGAPORE, 23 July 2008 – Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (“OCBC Bank”) and EZ-Link Pte Ltd today announced a collaboration to introduce a remote means of topping-up ez-link cards, for greater customer convenience. The Top & Tap service is available via OCBC Mobile Banking and EZ-Online with immediate effect.
OCBC Bank is the first and only bank to tie up with EZ-Link to offer such a remote top-up service.
Top & Tap is a two-step process that involves securing funds from an OCBC Bank account. This can be done with a mobile phone using OCBC Mobile Banking or by using a credit or debit card on EZ-Link’s website www.ezlink.com.sg, before proceeding to an EZ-Online Station to tap the ezlink card on the card reader to complete the process. Best of all, customers can top-up their own cards or that of a family member, and can do so remotely- the beneficiary does not have to be present with his or her ez-link card at the point of funds transfer.
To date, EZ-Link has rolled out EZ-Online Stations at five high-traffic MRT stations: Bugis, Orchard, Tanjong Pagar, Ang Mo Kio, and Raffles Place MRT Stations, for tapping of cards to complete the top-up process. From August 2008 onwards, customers will also be able to perform the fund transfer part of the ′Top & Tap′ transaction at these EZ-Online Stations, using a credit or debit card.
Ten schools have agreed to participate in the Top & Tap programme to benefit their students who will be able to top-up their ez-link cards at school, for immediate use. In this instance, once funds are secured via OCBC Mobile Banking or EZ-link’s website, all the student needs to do, is to proceed to the school office where a dedicated PC with an ez-link card reader attached will allow them to tap their cards to update the increased value in their cards.
The aim is to have all schools provide this service to students and parents. EZ-Link is willing to issue ez-link card readers to all schools to help facilitate this, since all students already carry a student ID card which is also an ez-link card.
Offering Convenience to OCBC Bank and EZ-Link Customers
This collaboration is timely as it comes in anticipation of an increase in ez-link transactions due to higher public transport riderships as well as an increase in the number and range of merchant and government agencies that accept ezlink payments, such as McDonald’s, 7-Eleven Convenience Stores, F&N Coca-Cola vending machines, F&B outlets at NTU and NUS and all National Library Board branches.
On average, four million ez-link transactions are made on Singapore’s public transport system everyday.
Mr Patrick Chew, OCBC Bank’s Senior Vice President and Head of Delivery, Group Consumer Financial Services said, "We’re pleased to partner EZ-Link to develop this initiative, to offer choice and convenience to consumers when it comes to topping-up their ez-link cards."
"Busy parents and working adults will be able to top-up their children or family members’ ez-link cards using OCBC Mobile Banking anytime, anywhere without having to go to fixed physical locations such as the Ticket Offices or General Ticketing Machines located at MRT stations. It helps save time, and minimises anxiety about low values in ez-link cards," he added.
Mr Seet Tiat Hee, Principal of West Spring Secondary School concurred, "This service is a great innovation that benefits both parents and pupils. As my school is not situated next to an MRT or Bus Terminal, my pupils can top-up their ez-link cards by calling their parents to do so via OCBC Mobile Banking or EZ-Link’s website www.ezlink.com.sg and then complete the transaction at my school office with a simple tap of their card. The convenience is really wonderful."
Commenting on the partnership, Mr Nicholas Lee, Senior Vice President of Business and Technology at EZ-Link said, "OCBC Bank has been leveraging on cutting-edge technology to develop dynamic banking and payment channels. Our collaboration taps on the Bank’s capability to offer convenience to ez-link customers, who can now top-up the value in their cards via the mobile phone anytime, anywhere."
With this ability to secure and send funds via OCBC Mobile Banking or EZLink’s website, parents can rest assured that their children will have adequate funds for their travel needs, just by keying in their child’s ez-link card number either on their mobile phone or on their keyboard which can be done remotely – while they are at work or even overseas.
Parents will find the remote top-up service handy as they can ensure that their children have enough money for their daily expenses at school as well as for public transport. Emergencies such as low values in ez-link cards, a common occurrence among children, will soon be a thing of the past.
Mr Thomas Tang, a marketing manager who has two children, one at primary level and the other at secondary level summed things up, "Previously, I had to make time to top-up my kids’ ez-link cards at the MRT station. This is inconvenient as I drive to work. With this new top-up service, I can do so at my convenience and be assured that my children have money for public transport anytime."
Remote top-up via OCBC Mobile Banking is efficient and simple
OCBC Bank customers can conveniently top-up the stored value of their ezlink cards from wherever they are, using their mobile phones.
This service is available to all OCBC Internet Banking customers who can logon to OCBC Mobile Banking using their internet banking access code and PIN. There is no need to pre-register for the service.
Once customers have logged on to OCBC Mobile Banking, they can draw funds from their OCBC Bank accounts to top up the ez-link cards of their choice by keying in the unique 9 digit number serial number found on the back of each ez-link card. Friendly names can also be used to identify the ez-link cards that have been topped-up previously.
After the top-up instruction is completed, all the beneficiary needs to do is tap his ez-link card on any EZ-Online station or a personal USB ez-link card reader to update the new value to the ez-link card.
About OCBC Bank
Singapore’s longest established local bank, OCBC Bank currently has assets of S$180 billion and a network of more than 460 branches and representative offices in 15 countries and territories including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Brunei, Japan, Australia, UK and USA. This network includes more than 350 branches and offices in Indonesia operated by OCBC Bank’s subsidiary, PT Bank NISP. OCBC Bank and its banking subsidiaries offer a wide range of specialist financial services, from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury and stock-broking services to meet the needs of its customers across communities.
OCBC Bank’s insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the largest insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia, in terms of assets and market share, and its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors is one of the largest asset management companies in Southeast Asia. Additional information may be found at www.ocbc.com.
About EZ-Link
EZ-Link’s core business is the sale, distribution and management of ez-link cards as well as the clearing and settlement of ez-link card transactions generated in transit and non-transit (retail/merchant) applications.
EZ-Link has issued over 10 million cards to date and have achieved more wallet share in Singapore than any other single card payment device. On a daily basis, over 4 million financial transactions are processed throughout EZLink’s system and this is constantly growing with the proliferation of the ez-link card in the non-transit payment arena.
For more information, please visit www.ezlink.com.sg.