Skip to main content

Singapore and China develop dual-currency transit card

In what is claimed to be a world first, the world's first dual currency transport smart card is being developed for use in Singapore and the Chinese province of Guangdong. The contactless smart card, or Sino visitor pass, will be launched in the first half of 2014 by Singapore payment service provider EZ-Link and Guangdong Lingnan Pass Company, allowing commuters to travel in both cities with just one card. The smart card will store both Singapore dollars and Chinese Renminbi and will also be accepted
August 22, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
In what is claimed to be a world first, the world's first dual currency transport smart card is being developed for use in Singapore and the Chinese province of Guangdong.

The contactless smart card, or Sino visitor pass, will be launched in the first half of 2014 by Singapore payment service provider EZ-Link and Guangdong Lingnan Pass Company, allowing commuters to travel in both cities with just one card.

The smart card will store both Singapore dollars and Chinese Renminbi and will also be accepted at more than 100,000 points in both cities, including retail and food and beverage.

Additional functions such as inter-city top-up features and the integration of e-tickets to hold products such as tourist passes will be progressively added after the launch.

"This means that in the future, visitors can also gain access to tourist attractions, food and beverage, retail deals and other lifestyle applications in both countries with this pass," said EZ-Link's CEO Nicholas Lee.

Related Content

  • March 20, 2023
    Bon voyage from Flowbird as Clermont-Ferrand opens up
    Open payment system in French university city has attracted 100,000 transactions so far
  • March 25, 2019
    LTA to enable contactless travel in Singapore via Mastercard
    The Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore is to launch an account-based ticketing system which will allow commuters to pay for public transport via Mastercard from 4 April. LTA says the SimplyGo system will allow card users to also keep track of travel expenditure and history by registering for an account of the TransitLink SimplyGo Portal, available online and via the SimplyGo mobile app. Yeo Teck Guan, senior group director, public transport at LTA, says: “SimplyGo widens the range of payment
  • June 7, 2017
    Technology and finance shapes up to make MaaS happen
    The technology and finance aspects needed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to become widely adopted are taking shape as Geoff Hadwick and Colin Sowman hear. Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global and ‘father’ of MaaS, started his address to ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference in London by saying: “All of the problems that can be solved by a company or group of companies have already been solved, and now we are left with the big ones such as housing, transport and health. He called MaaS the “Netfli
  • April 2, 2014
    Init wins e-fare system in Oregon
    In a project valued at more than US$14 million, integrated ITS and ticketing systems supplier Init is to implement a new e-fare/smart card payment system for the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) in the US. TriMet provides bus, light rail, and commuter rail service in the Portland metro area; the new system will enable passengers to utilise contactless bank cards and mobile phones, offering more convenience and pricing equity. The contract comprises the delivery of a