SINGAPORE: Members of the public can now use a credit card to pay for your MRT or bus ride, and use the points acquired to redeem free rides.
This was announced in a joint partnership initiative on Thursday by SMRT and Citibank.
The new SMRT-Citibank credit card is a 2-in-1 card, which comes with an EZ-link function.
"When they charge, when they spend, they can get rebates in terms of SMRT dollars; and in that they can get free rides. Basically it's something that you are going to spend, and you are going to save on it," said Saw Phaik Hwa, President and CEO, SMRT.
The two companies have calculated that if you spend an average of $700 per month on your card, you can get up to 400 free rides annually.
However, as with all credit cards, a minimum income is needed to qualify - in this case, a $30,000 annual income.
Passengers will have to make sure they have just one stored value EZ-link card in their wallets when they go through the gates, as there have been problems recently when passengers carry 2 EZ-link cards and the system does not know which card to deduct from.
A debit card will be launched in the first quarter of next year.
For now, SMRT is only offering this service with Citibank. - CNA /dt
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/245877/1/.html