Expired ez-link cards lose value after two years

Commuters holding on to expired ez-link cards will lose $1 every month from the stored value two years after the transport payment cards have expired, said card issuer EZ-Link yesterday. The sum is to pay for the maintenance cost of these expired cards, it said.

It was responding to a Facebook post on Wednesday by former opposition politician Teo Soh Lung, who said expired ez-link cards that did not have their value transferred to another card would lose $1 monthly. Citing her own card, she said it expired two years ago and later lost the $16 it held in stored value. "I think this is cheating commuters. What service did it provide to deduct $1 a month? It should refund every single cent."

The post has been shared more than 100 times, with about 100 people commenting on it. EZ-Link, in response to queries, said the deduction does not start immediately, but two years after the card expires. It added that 'there is a cost to maintaining a card that has expired after two years in the system'. "We encourage card holders to replace their expired cards within two years of the date of expiry," it said.

Commuters can check the expiry date of their cards at the add-value machines in MRT stations or via the EZ-Link mobile app, among other options. To get refunds for expired cards, they can submit a refund request form to any TransitLink ticket office. Refunds will not be given in cash, but are credited directly into the card owner's bank account. Another option is for owners of expired cards to transfer the remaining sum to a new card or an active ez-link card.