Touch ‘n Go introduces its new NFC-enable TnG cards and it allows you to top up from your eWallet!

Touch ‘n Go (TnG) will be introducing its new physical TnG card that will allow users to top up directly via their eWallet app in the next few weeks!

According to TnG Digital CEO Ignatius Ong, this function is made possible with the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and users can easily top up their balance using an NFC-enabled port via the TnG eWallet application.

This is something similar to Hong Kong’s Octopus card where users can top up by tapping it on the back of an NFC-enabled smartphone.

“The Touch ‘n Go card that we have in circulation for the last 20 years does not have the capability to directly top up your cards from the eWallet because you need a specific card reader to actually do the transactions for security reasons,” Ong said.

Meanwhile, TnG has yet to reveal any costing details for the new NFC-enabled card.

In 2018, TnG had offered the option to reload the physical card via the eWallet but it ended up being a disaster for users. After performing the “top-up”, you will need to go to a specific kiosk to “transfer” the credit to the actual physical card. The feature was finally removed after a huge backlash from users.

Currently, the only link between a physical TnG card and the eWallet app now is the PayDirect function, where toll charges are first deducted from the eWallet balance instead of the balance on the linked card.

Only when the eWallet’s balance is exhausted will toll charges be deducted from the physical card’s balance, although this can be prevented by enabling the auto-reload feature in the eWallet.

The idea of reloading your TnG card through your eWallet app is not something new and it had been planned for some years now. Though this new TnG card allows you to do so, you’ll need a phone with built-in NFC to reload the new TnG card using the eWallet app.

Apart from the new upgraded TnG card, TnG also has plans to introduce a Visa Prepaid card that’s tied to the TNG eWallet. The card will then allow users to spend with their TNG eWallet balance at any shops worldwide that accept credit or debit card payments.