Today we’re doing a little bit of myth busting and fact finding on Touch n Go, the eWallet and specifically RFID. We saw a bunch of complaints on social media about a whole bunch of different things so in this Dwibahasa episode we’ll try and test and verify a few of the main ones.
For the full breakdown of what happened, definitely watch the video. But if you’re unable to for whatever reason, here’s a quick summary.
#1 Is there a delay when reloading for RFID?
Our colleague Najib was stuck at the RFID lane at the toll booth because apparently he had insufficient credit in his eWallet. However, what he tells us is that he reloaded his eWallet several minutes before arriving at the toll both, and he absolutely had enough credit in his eWallet. To find out if this is a real problem and whether there was a delay or not, we set up a simple experiment.
First we emptied the eWallet and then as we were pulling up to the toll booth, we reloaded and went through. Surprisingly, it worked. But the theory was that maybe there was a delay that didn’t realise we emptied the eWallet. So we did a second run without reloading and obviously got stuck. We backed up, reloaded and went for a third try…which worked. As a result, it looks like there is no delay when reloading for RFID. Perhaps Najib was just unlucky and the system wasn’t working properly the day he got stuck.
#2 Does it matter which side you tap your Enhanced TNG card?
There was a rumour on Facebook where the side which you tap your Enhanced TNG card determines which balance it draws from. One side will draw from the eWallet while the other side will draw from the card’s reloaded balance. To find out, we headed to the Guthrie Corridor Expressway and tapped once on the front side and once on the back side. Both, however, were charged to our eWallet via PayDirect. So obviously, this is nonsense.
#3 Maximum charge penalty
This is more of a PSA, but basically a number of people appear to be surprised that there is a maximum penalty charge when you enter and exit a closed toll system with different payment methods. It’s likely due to the fact that RFID has made this a little bit more complicated, but the idea is that you should always try to enter and exit a closed toll system with the same payment method. If you enter with RFID, exit with RFID. If you enter with a TNG card, exit with the same TNG card.
If you are charged with the maximum charge penalty, you can attempt a refund by visiting the website.
#4 You can disable PayDirect from your TNG card
This is a new feature introduced by Touch n Go where you can disable your PayDirect function from your registered Touch n Go card. For more information on this, read our article on the topic here.
