Getting everyone on board Singapore’s smart nation journey: EZ-Link’s latest Family Account feature helps families go digital together

The Family Account will serve to draw seniors and other dependants into EZ-Link’s wider digital services ecosystem while granting heads of families and caregivers greater visibility and convenience over the management of card transactions

SINGAPORE, 6 February 2023 – EZ-Link Pte Ltd, pioneer of contactless payments in Singapore, takes another step towards making daily commutes and financial management more convenient with the launch of the Family Account feature. The Family Account introduces group card management for both standard SimplyGo EZ-Link cards as well as SimplyGo Concession cards to cater to dependants within a household including seniors, persons with disabilities, tertiary students and more. Users can now group up to seven cards together as a family unit, and manage top-ups and transactions for each of them via the EZ-Link app – anytime and anywhere.

Unlike the current limitation of only allowing an individual’s card to be added to one account, the new feature lets caregivers and heads of families link multiple cards to their account, while retaining each individual card holder’s ability to register their cards on their personal account. Caregivers and heads of families will also enjoy greater ease of card management, with an improved user interface that distinguishes their personal EZ-Link cards from their dependants’ cards within their EZ-Link app.

“As an everyday companion of Singapore residents, EZ-Link’s goal is to bring value to all segments of society – from cradle to silver. This mission remains constant even in our digitalisation journey. To this end, caregivers and family play a critical role in ensuring that no one gets left behind. By introducing the Family Account, we hope to make the seemingly small yet essential task of managing families’ daily expenses and travel more efficient and enjoyable for everyone, while also smoothening the digital journey for the seniors in society,” said Mr Nicholas Lee, CEO of EZ-Link Pte Ltd.

The EZ-Link Family Account

A more convenient, inclusive and safer way to manage everyday expenses
By creating a Family Account, heads of families and caregivers (i.e. account administrators) can enjoy greater convenience when managing their dependants’ cards and caring for their everyday commute and expenditure needs. At the same time, family and household members who are part of a Family Account are also able to go digital and enjoy the benefits of EZ-Link Rewards.

For instance, heads of families can add the SimplyGo EZ-Link cards of elderly family members, domestic helpers, as well as tertiary students and other individuals who may require caregiver support, to their Family Account and remotely enable top-ups for their dependants’ cards. They can also view their dependants’ card transit and retail transaction details. This includes tracking the last transit location where the card was used, which can be particularly useful for caregivers of people living with dementia.

Allowing dependants to retain the ability to register their cards on their personal EZ-Link accounts also gives each user the chance to earn and redeem EZ-Link Rewards for transactions completed on their card, while offering them the convenience of being managed through the Family Account.

Daniel Low, a member of GovTech’s Tech Kaki end-user community said, “EZ-Link’s Family Account functions are easy to navigate within the app, making managing my family’s travel and daily expenditure much more convenient. This is especially helpful in caring for my elderly parents as they need not worry about insufficient card balance, for example. Knowing that I can make instant top-ups anytime anywhere, or check if they have made it to their destination by checking their last transit location within the Family Account gives me a sense of security.” Tech Kaki was set up by GovTech to engage the citizen community in the development process of government digital products and services, ensuring that these are designed to meet the needs of citizens and businesses.

Setting up your Family Account
The user who creates the Family Account will automatically assume the administrative role of ‘Head of Family’ (HOF), and can invite up to six other SimplyGo EZ-Link or SimplyGo Concession card holders to join the Family Account as dependants. These dependants (i.e. non-administrator accounts) must accept the HOF’s invitation to join the family account, and can decide to leave at any time.

Each SimplyGo EZ-Link card can join up to two different Family Accounts. This includes concession cards that have been upgraded to SimplyGo, such as those for tertiary students, full-time national servicemen, as well as senior citizens, and persons with disabilities. More information on the types of concession cards eligible for SimplyGo upgrade can be found in the annex.

Upcoming Family Account enhancements
Plans are underway to include Student Concession cards issued to Ministry of Education students in the future when SimplyGo upgrade for such cards is made available. EZ-Link will also be rolling out further updates to the Family Account that will bring even greater levels of convenience to users. These include enabling HOFs to receive low balance push notifications and top-up requests from dependants, and access card blocking capabilities to prevent the unauthorised usage of lost cards.

EZ-Link’s Family Account aims to bring families together in the digital journey. By allowing each user to retain ownership of their cards while being part of the Family Account, the feature brings convenience to supporting each other in the journey without sacrificing the benefits of having their own registered card. For more information on EZ-Link’s Family Account feature, please visit www.ezlink.com.sg/family-account-feature/.

About EZ-Link Pte Ltd

Established in 2002, EZ-Link is a pioneer in contactless payments in Singapore with the EZ-Link card being its core product offering. EZ-Link remains the top choice for contactless prepaid card payment in Singapore with more than 40 million cards issued to date. Synonymous with transit payments in Singapore, EZ-Link has since expanded its offerings and is widely used for shopping, dining, private transport, government services and community services at more than 30,000 acceptance points across the island. EZ-Link continues to be at the forefront of digital inclusion, bringing all Singaporeans, young and old, onto the nation’s cashless journey. For more information, please visit www.ezlink.com.sg.

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ANNEX

Concession card schemes:
Eligibility for upgrade to SimplyGo and subsequent access to EZ-Link’s digital services

For more information on SimplyGo concession cards, please refer to the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) press release or contact LTA directly.