Finally, the cost of parking at shopping centres and other commercial properties which accept the Touch ’n Go (TnG) card for payment will be cheaper as the 10% surcharge will be stopped. This was confirmed by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Deputy Minister Chong Chieng Jen in Parliament today.

However, the removal of the surcharge will not be immediate as there are existing agreements which need to be honoured. While those legacy agreements expire in future, new agreements will exclude the surcharge which has so far been paid by motorists.

In fact, there are already carparks in the Klang Valley where no surcharge is imposed. The operators have recognized that using the electronic payment card not only makes things convenient for motorists but also for themselves. Traffic flow can be faster and cashless transactions means additional security.

The 10% surcharge is not the only complaint TnG users have had. Ever since the TnG card was introduced in the late 1990s as an electronic payment card for tolls on highways, motorists have always been upset that even though they paid in advance for the card to have stored value for payment, they never received any discount (although rebates started being offered about 10 years ago). That was one complaint.

As the years went by and the TnG card could be reloaded at places other than toll plazas, a 50-sen surcharge was added for reloading. This is imposed by the places that offer reload services and the money collected is retained by them. However, some may not add the 50-sen surcharge as a benefit to their customers.

Nevertheless, there are many places where motorists can reload without paying the extra 50 sen, like the self-service kiosks and TnG counters around the country. Currently, there are over 2,800 locations around the country where reloading can be done without any surcharge. For the latest list of locations with and without reload fees, click here.

Another complaint which should be addressed is the dormant card issue (besides the lifespan of 10 years). If a TnG card is not used for any transaction (a reload also counts as a transaction) for a consecutive period of 12 months, it will be deactivated. TnG says the move is to prevent ‘unnecessary load that prevent the system from operating optimally’. According to TnG’s conditions last updated on November 15, 2018, an administration fee of RM5 will be imposed immediately and deducted from the deposit or unutilised card balance. If the card remains inactive, a maintenance fee of RM5 will be charged every 6 months!

The fee will be stopped when the card is reactivated, returned for refund or until the deposit and card balance are depleted, or up to 7 years (whichever comes first). This is something which surprised people who tried to reactivate their card, remembering that it had some balance and then found that some amount was deducted. TnG says the fees are to urge customers to claim the unutilised balance and allow them to terminate the card account in their system.