Touch ‘N Go’s eWallet has gone dark without warning. Are RFID users affected?
An unscheduled Touch ‘N Go eWallet service interruption today caused ripples across the nation this afternoon. In an Instagram Story update, the Tough ‘N Go eWallet informed users that a service interruption in their eWallet around 3pm today MAY affect RFID and PayDirect transactions. The message reads:
“Dear valued user, we understand you’re experiencing a service interruption in your eWallet at the moment & may not be able to perform payments including RFID & PayDirect transactions. Rest assured that we are currently rectifying this matter & will update you accordingly, as soon as it is back online.We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Thank you for your kind patience & understanding.”
TnG’s RFID toll collection service utilises the TnG eWallet, thus when the eWallet is down, there may be some problems with RFID. Bear in mind, this is a Friday evening with many hundreds of thousands of Malaysians about to commute across the Klang Valley and across the nation for their weekend. It’s possible that traffic will be exceptionally bad as a result of this service disruption.
However, 3 hours after the initial announcement shown above, TnG eWallet posted an update stating that RFID can still be used if you have sufficient balance.
This still implies some RFID users may have issues if their eWallets need to be topped up for a toll payment through RFID. I guess the only way to find out is the hard way. Unfortunately, we haven’t installed the RM35 RFID tags on any of our vehicles.
Touch ‘N Go, who have a monopoly over the nation’s highway toll collection services, has been pushing hard to make RFID the new standard, replacing both traditional TnG prepaid cards and SmartTAG card readers. However, time and time again the many weaknesses of RFID are surfacing and it’s the common Malaysian who suffers. We have voiced our concerns over making RFID mandatory on the PLUS highway and today’s disruption only cements our disapproval of the service.
