Touch ‘n Go Bags Two Awards At The Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2023

Touch 'n Go Sdn Bhd (“Touch ‘n Go”) received double recognition at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2023. The company was awarded for its RFID fueling solution in the Fintech - Financial Technology category, whilst its second award was for its latest development in Near-Field Communication (“NFC”) reload capabilities in the E-Wallet - Financial Technology category.

Touch ‘n Go RFID was developed and launched in 2018 with the objective of providing a more seamless and convenient way of making toll payments. It has seen strong growth in adoption and usage since its launch with more than 2.2 million active RFID users currently, and the number is rapidly growing.

To complement its mobility ecosystem, Touch ‘n Go has been continuously exploring new ways of enhancing the RFID payment use case, and the combination of the RFID and eWallet infrastructure enabled the company to quickly expand towards payment for fuels.

“We were fortunate to have found in Shell Malaysia, a partner who shared our ambition of providing users with a cashless, contactless driving experience. Together, we launched Touch ‘n Go RFID fueling in August 2022 to enable seamless, contactless fuel payments at selected Shell stations,” said Praba Sangarajoo, CEO of Touch ‘n Go.

The seamless process means that Touch ‘n Go RFID users would not need to engage with a point-of-sale system or require any interaction with an app on their mobile phones to make payments for fuel.  First time users will need to link their Touch ‘n Go eWallet account to their RFID tag. Upon successful activation, they simply need to park their vehicle at the designated RFID fueling bays at any RFID-enabled Shell station. An additional layer of verification is also deployed in the form of an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology, working hand-in-hand with the RFID technology, as a second source of verification and validation in ensuring the correct vehicle is present and the correct eWallet is charged. Within seconds of vehicle detection, and the direct charge mechanism auto-debits the users’ eWallet. Any unutilized charges are refunded to their eWallet immediately.

At present, this seamless cashless fueling experience has been activated across 180 Shell stations nationwide with the number expected to increase to 300 stations by the end of 2023.

Since its launch in 1997, the Touch 'n Go card has played a significant role in driving convenient mobility in Malaysia. It was one of the initial drivers of cashless convenience, revolutionizing the way people paid for tolls, public transportation (rail transit and buses), parking and even retail purchases. Expanding on this capability, the enhanced Touch ‘n Go card with NFC reload capabilities was launched in 2022. The NFC reload function via the Touch ‘n Go eWallet allows direct reloading to the enhanced Touch ‘n Go card using an NFC-enabled mobile phone. Users can reload their cards within seconds anytime, anywhere and no longer need to go to petrol stations, self-service kiosks or convenience stores to reload their cards.

Recognizing the different segments and needs of its various users, Touch ‘n Go also launched charms with NFC reload capabilities, which provided an alternative form factor to its users, enabling them to carry the charm on keychains, bags, mobile phones and lanyards, infusing an element of personalization to daily travel.

Both the RFID and NFC products by Touch ‘n Go saw success on various fronts. The RFID fueling solution garnered more than 70,000 users in a span of five months since its launch, with a significant growth in the number of monthly transactions performed by users.  Meanwhile, the enhanced Touch ‘n Go card and NFC charm are recognized as the only NFC-capable card and charm in Malaysia that enables reloading directly from an e-wallet via NFC technology.

Commenting on the award wins, Praba said, “Over the years, we have endeavoured to bring greater levels of seamless cashless convenience and security by leveraging on innovative home-grown technology to deliver unique value propositions to our users. We are truly honoured to receive these two awards as they are testament to the hard work and collaborative efforts of our dedicated teams within Touch ‘n Go. We are proud to have talented Malaysians building these enabling systems.”

“This award win motivates us to continue our efforts in developing more revolutionary and differentiated products and services which add value and provide convenience in our users’ daily lives. A case in point would be how we are expanding the Touch ‘n Go RFID use case beyond tolling and fueling, and exploring new verticals such as payments for parking, drive-thrus and EV charging. Touch ‘n Go’s RFID capabilities are also ready for the future development of toll payments on Malaysian highways,” said Praba.

The Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards recognizes exceptional companies who are riding the disruption wave and are leading the technological revolution and digital journeys of their respective industries to boost Malaysia’s fast-growing economy.

This is the second consecutive year that the Touch ‘n Go Group is recognized at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards. The Group received awards for Fintech – Payments, and Fintech - Financial Services in 2022.

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