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New Ez-Link Contactless Smart Cards Converge Transit and Payment Applications

 

Saturday, December 27, 2008
Adi Tedjasaputra.
by Adi Tedjasaputra

EZ-Link Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA), will make new Ez-Link contactless smart cards available for purchase in Singapore from Monday. The new contactless smart cards are compliant with Contactless e-Purse Smart Card Application Specification (CEPAS) and expected to replace the existing EZ-Link cards currently used to pay for public bus and train rides in Singapore.

The new Multi-Purpose Stored Value (MPSV) card is also expected to provide more features than the existing EZ-link cards. When purchasing the new card, commuters no longer need to pay travel deposit. The maximum stored value of S$500 and its 5-year life span would provide convenience for purposes other than paying for transit fares, such as Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), Electronic Parking System (EPS) and retail payments.

RFID Source.In the first quarter of 2009, cardholders would be able to use it for paying purchases in schools, printing services, F&B outlets and private buses. Later in 2009, 7-Eleven stores, libraries, taxis, vending machines, Singapore Pools and hospitals would be able to accept the new card as a means of payment for transactions less than S$100.

The convergence of mass transit and micropayment applications on the new contactles smart cards will likely pose a challenge to the market dominance of NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore) in retail sector. NETS itself has identified the estimated $1.5 bilion transit market in Singapore as an expansion area, according to NETS' CEO Poh Mui Hoon as quoted by The Straits Times.

In recent years, Asia Pacific consumers have seen a growing Near Field Communication (NFC) trials, Mobile Wallet and Digital Money applications, which use short-range RFID technology. While most contactless smart card applications still use cards due to various reasons, mobile phones and USB sticks have started to emerge as alternative devices.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.


* Comments (2) *


Japan has taken a route of Felica and NFC. Singapore is going in CEPAS direction. Both are contactless technologies. I am not sure what are the pros and cons of these? Any idea?
- William -


Comparing FeliCa, NFC and CEPAS is like comparing apples and oranges. FeliCa is a contactless IC card technology developed by a Japanese company - Sony. NFC is a short-range wireless technology applicable to a wide range of devices. CEPAS is a national (Singapore) specification for contactless electronic payment, which can provide a level playing field for NETS and EZ-Link to "compete", with regards to the vision of an interoperable national electronic payment platform. As a matter of fact, the previous version of EZ-Link cards used FeliCa. However, there would not be a level playing field if the new platform was built on FeliCa.
- Adi Tedjasaputra -


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Indonesia Ponders over RFID, Contactless Smart Card, NFC and Mobile Technology

 

Monday, March 31, 2008
Eunice Sari.
by Eunice Sari

The RFID Asia Summit 2008 (http://summit.rfid-Asia.info) held on 12-13 March 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia, organized by RFID Asia (www.rfidAsia.org), the Prominent RFID Community in Asia, is the prestigious international event to address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries in Indonesia and Asia Pacific region.

As the only event in Asia Pacific dedicated for RFID experts and leaders in charge for the development of businesses in the emerging markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 has presented a line-up of international renowned speakers from Asia Pacific and USA. The event has successfully impressed the international delegates from Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East with intellectually thought-provoking and inspiring conference tracks, exhibitions, demonstrations, business networking and meeting sessions.

The RFID Asia Summit 2008 was officially inaugurated by the Founder of RFID Asia, Adi Tedjasaputra. In his opening remarks, he pointed out how the tremendous advancement in RFID technology and market growth in Asia Pacific has started to add values in different emerging markets. Furthermore, he also detailed the unique role of RFID Asia in contributing to the advancement of RFID technology and market growth in Asia Pacific, while producing a shared practice and collective intelligence as RFID Asia community members engage in a collective process of learning and sharing. Regarding the event itself, he explained how RFID Asia Summit 2008 was crafted to provide delegates with a unique experience and results.

RFID Asia Summit 2008 Speaker.After the opening remarks, Stephen Dolan, the Director of Sybase Australia & New Zealand unveiled how to integrate business logic and processes with RFID and sensor technologies, including mobile devices. One of the most interesting parts in his presentation is his view on the death of RFID Middleware – the software connecting RFID readers with enterprise applications. Enriched with real-life examples and industrial case studies, he concluded his presentation with several key recommendations to integrate sensor data into Enterprise Applications.

The next speaker, Dr. Toni Anwar, the Coordinator Software Systems Engineering of TGGS Thailand introduced the basics of RFID technology and applications with examples in building automation system and smart parking. He closed his presentation with some future RFID trends and the requirements for further development in RFID.

Opening the theme of Near Field Communication (NFC) in RFID Asia Summit 2008, Goh Say Yeow, EVP Sales and Managing Director Asia Pacific of INSIDE presented the market trends and development of contactless payment. From the current contactless payment, he explained the role of NFC technology as an enabler for contactless card and card reader emulation using NFC-enabled mobile phones. Furthermore, he also detailed three NFC use cases that will have impact for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), i.e. pairing/connectivity, proximity service and transactions. Most importantly, he also highlighted that convenience will be the real value proposition of NFC that will drive consumer adoption.

Going further with NFC technology, Jonathon Gould, VP Asia Pacific of ViVOtech reviewed different generations of electronic payment system with contactless payment becoming the latest trend. He further mentioned several cases and trials involving NFC technology for mobile payment and marketing.

After a sumptuous and active networking luncheon, Chua Thian Yee, CEO of CASSIS, focused on the NFC technology used for mobile payment, reviewing the consumer landscape, the fundamentals of NFC technology and several mobile payment cases.

Heru Wahyudi, Sales and Marketing Manager, representing PT. Solusi Periferal and Intermec presented different kind of industrial RFID applications, with some remarks that are open for further discussions, such as: the possibility of having real benefits from RFID implementation without complete process re-engineering, internal benefit with self-implemented RFID and collaboration with suppliers and customers to produce more value.

In late afternoon, Dr. Urachada Ketprom of NECTEC Thailand has captured the attention of RFID Asia Summit 2008 delegates with her well-prepared presentation on animal and food traceability. Her presentation was further enriched with the latest updates on RFID projects, such as chicken farm management, animal transport checkpoint, swine farm management, microchip-implanted pets and shrimp traceability.

RFID Asia Summit 2008 Exhibition.Exhibition is one of the highlights in the RFID Asia Summit 2008. International delegates have visited and engaged actively with the exhibitors to explore business opportunities and get the latest information on RFID products and services available in the market . The expressions of contentment were received from both the exhibitors and delegates.

Opening the RFID Demonstration Rally (tm), the RFID Group Research at School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) shared the latest information on RFID technology research and development, as well as the university-industry collaboration that has taken place. The presentation was immediately followed by product demonstration from Intermec/PT Solusi Periferal and Sicurezza, including a short video clip presentation by ViVOtech.

Closing the International Conference on Auto-ID, RFID, Smart Card and Mobile Technology, Adi Tedjasaputra summarized the full day activities and announced the networking events and One-to-One Business Meeting in the next morning following the conference.

The writer is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology.


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