Following the success of its 18-month RFID public pilot programme that saw one million Malaysians testing out the new contactless payment system, Touch ‘n Go (TNG) revealed that it plans to expand the use of RFID technology in the country.
The company announced earlier that the TNG RFID tag (sticker) will be made available for purchase at a retail price of MYR35 per tag at all of its fitment centres nationwide.
Syahrunizam Samsudin, chief executive officer of Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd said that RFID technology is an important component of the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) as the country aims to match or surpass the level of countries such as Singapore, Taiwan and China.
The introduction of RFID is aligned with the government’s efforts towards multi-lane free flow (MLFF) highways and improving the highway experience for motorists.
Globally, there are 70.5 million vehicles connected through RFID technology. The RFID tag market is expected to grow at a compounded rate of seven percent between 2017-2022. Asia Pacific is seen as a driving force behind this growth.
As it stands, TNG RFID is limited to use as a contactless payment solution for tolls and is supported at most major open toll highways. It is available for all Class 1 vehicles and currently supported across 23 highways. There are three different types of RFID lanes: dedicated RFID, hybrid SmarTAG-RFID and hybrid TNG-RFID lanes. Come 1 April 2020, all PLUS highways will be RFID-enabled.
More than just for tolls
Toll payments aside, TNG plans to do more. IN Q3 2020, TNG RFID will be introduced for car parks and later in Q4 2020, TNG plans to rollout support for petrol purchases.
Syahrunizam gave examples of how RFID technology is used overseas: from RFID-embedded travel documents and refuelling, to the operation of unmanned retail stores.
“Now it is time for us to move forward and continue to expand the use of RFID technology together with our partners across the mobility ecosystem,” he said.
TNG is working closely with its partners to introduce new use cases for RFID, including RFID payment for retail drive-thrus in early 2021. I can see how this can work in a fast food or even Starbucks drive-thru application.
TNG RFID is linked with the Touch ‘n Go eWallet where you can manage as well as top-up the wallet. However, in the future, TNG plans to integrate an open payment system to enable other ways to fund the e-wallet such as bank accounts, credit and debit cards.
For more information, visit https://rfid.touchngo.com.my/
