Aside from answering our questions about Touch ‘n Go eWallet’s new SOS Balance feature, operator TNG Digital also provided some insight into the long-awaited introduction of its PayDirect system on PLUS Malaysia’s closed-system tolled highways, such as the North-South Expressway (NSE).
To recap, PayDirect allows motorists using their TNG cards to use their eWallet balance to pay for tolls, instead of what’s in their cards. PayDirect is one of the key components of SOS Balance; without it, only RFID users will be able to utilise their eWallet balance and thus, SOS Balance. Of the seven million users of PayDirect, 50% of them “face limitations due to the lack of PayDirect coverage on PLUS highways, restricting their ability to fully benefit from the service,” TNG Digital told us.
Some good news – the company said the approval process with PLUS is “nearing completion,” meaning that we can look forward to using PayDirect on all PLUS highways in the near future. “We are hopeful that SOS Balance will be expanded to cover more locations soon,” it said in an email response.
One section of the NSE that has recently been cleared to use PayDirect is the Northern stretch from Hutan Kampung in Kedah to Sungai Dua in Penang, making it the first closed system to support the feature. Aside from that, PayDirect can be used on PLUS’ two open-system tolled highways – the Penang Bridge and the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE).
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