Imagine taking a taxi ride without any cash and not getting into big time trouble with the man behind the wheel? That’s no fantasy, because Malaysian cabs are going cashless now, and by the end of the year, 10,000 taxis will be able to payment via payment by QR code.
Yesterday, Touch n Go announced a partnership that will enable EzCab and Public Cab taxi drivers to accept cashless payments via the Touch n Go eWallet, which is also needed for the RFID toll payment pilot programme. Themed #JomTeksi, this move will help taxi drivers remain competitive alongside ride hailing services.
The QR code payment system used by Touch n Go eWallet only requires passengers to scan the driver’s code for payment. Taxi drivers do not have to install any kind of terminal or extra hardware in their vehicles. Currently, almost 4,000 EzCab and independent taxi drivers are equipped with a QR code. Touch n Go is expecting to QR-enable 10,000 taxis by the end of 2018, and the target is to convert 67,000 taxis nationwide by end 2019.
“The transportation industry has seen significant changes in recent times with the development of mobile applications for bus and train rides, as well as the rise of ride hailing and car-sharing application platforms. I applaud TNG Digital for taking a step forward to help our taxi drivers innovate in this digital age to ensure street-hailing remains customer-friendly and competitive,” said transport minister Anthony Loke.
“The QR-enablement by Touch n Go eWallet for registered taxis in Malaysia will modernise taxi drivers and enable them to offer convenient and safe payment option for commuters. I urge taxi drivers nationwide to adopt this cashless payment channel moving forward,” he added.
To encourage adoption, Touch n Go has introduced a cashless referral programme. Each driver will receive 100 Touch n Go eWallet reload PINs worth RM8 each to be distributed to their passengers. In return, taxi drivers will receive an incentive of RM4 for each passenger who utilises the reload PINs. This is only applicable for new and first time Touch n Go eWallet users.
In addition, EzCab has a special promo code worth RM2 for first time users of the Touch n Go eWallet. The “EZTNGD2” code is valid from November 1-5 and is limited to the first 500 redemptions daily.
To pay for your cab ride via Touch n Go eWallet, tap the ‘Scan’ icon in the app to scan the QR code of the taxi, verify the amount due with the driver, enter the amount and your six-digit PIN code. You will receive an immediate notification by SMS. Transaction history can be checked in the app.
Of course, good old cash is still very much welcomed by the cabbies.
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Can you top up your physical touch n go with this app ?
Can you pay for petrol with this app?
Can you pay for warung/kopitiam food with this app?
Sooner or later, these cabbies gonna reject passengers that attempt to pay with this app if the current ewallet cluster**** is not solved
What is the cost for cabbies to use QR code? Just a sticker only! Sooner later warung mamak all will use QR code bcoz it is costless to put out this option.
Big player like touch N go will win this game.
A lot of them are “cashless” now… thats why mogok mogok mogok only… kerja malas, memilih but suddenly blame grab…
a good move but question is, it is still the discretion of the taxi driver to accept your destination or not..
Don’t understand why the need of all these 3rd party payment types (well I do, and you probably do as well)
Every more developed country’s taxies can take credit or debit cards as payment. Even in Vietnam you can pay for your ride with a debit card. Whats more universal than a debit card? Why are we so backwards?
In China Alipay is upstaging credit car very rapidly. Can pay street hawker food with Alipay but not CC.
Crap now RFID users who are already using the ewallet can’t get the ‘first time user’ freebies.
KL sentral to IJN
Taxi : rm22
Grab : rm11
So what if they use touch and go or what not cashless payment. price is still double.
A cashless Malaysia will be a whole different world. There’s pro’s and con’s. Why so? no more tipping, no more under table, no more duit kopi, no more adjusting accounting papers, no more this that situations, no more settle lah or kau dim cultures, most importantly no more haggling… In short, a lot harder for cash to slip away from taxes… Pro’s would be, no more illegal immigrants, no more bribery, officers cant evade responsibilities, super transparent system where culprits is easily isolated and arrested, as a whole it’ll force our country to adopt developed country mentality regardless if we like it or not…
Can it be done? in other developing countries, perhaps not, in Malaysia, YES! we have multiple authentications systems such as TAC, PINS and even physical key-code generators. Banks can have apps with fingerprint authentications for small transactions as well. For the government, it’s now as easy as just implementing it, rather than investing an insane amount of $$$ to get it started.
Heck the government can even choose to auto debit Fines, Taxes, Tolls, Parking, and etc etc… during transactions and return whatever deductions and subsidies directly to the accounts after the proper documentation of paperwork is done at the end of the month. This way the government can earn back the $$$ used to subsidies street stall owners to get their devices set up for their road side businesses. All this can be done with our current bank’s infrastructure so even less worry for the governments as well.