Taipei’s EasyCard Corp and its Singaporean counterpart on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which the two companies are to jointly issue smart cards that can be used to pay for public transportation in the two countries.
The MOU was signed in Singapore by EasyCard Corp chairman Chang Chia-sheng (張家生) and EZ-Link Pte Ltd chief executive Nicholas Lee (李德明), and represents EasyCard’s first collaboration with a foreign counterpart on developing a cross-border smart card.
EasyCard Corp is to work with EZ-Link to issue a “Combi Card” that can be used in metro systems and on buses in Taiwan and Singapore.
Other potential applications include buying tickets to tourist attractions and shopping.
Lee expressed the hope that the card would be launched within a year.
In the program’s initial stage, funds will have to be added to the card in New Taiwan dollars when it is being used in Taiwan and in Singapore dollars when it is being used in the city-state, Chang said.
Further improvements are expected in the future to make the card easier and more convenient to use, he said.
Taiwan’s EasyCard and the EZ-Link card in Singapore are currently both used to pay for public transportation and make purchases at convenience stores and supermarkets.
Last year, about 300,000 Taiwanese visited Singapore, while about 360,000 Singaporeans went to Taiwan in the same year, according to Ministry of Transportation and Communications figures.
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