If you commute by LRT or MRT then you probably have already seen that one of the gantries at the stations has a Debit/Credit card reader. However, those readers have always been in trial mode so we can’t be certain whether they’ve ever been operational all this while. All that will soon change.
Yesterday (Thursday, 26th October), Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that Prasarana is currently in the final stages of implementing the open payment system which will allow passengers to pay for their train rides; LRT, MRT, and Monorail with credit and debit cards.
According to the Minister, the implementation process is expected to begin in March 2024. It was said that the infrastructure construction of the new payment system for Rapid KL’s rapid rail network may take 11 months and by February 2025, only 50% of each station’s gantries are expected to accept the open payment system.
Eventually, by August 2025, every gantry at every station will be equipped with the new technology. Anthony explained that the new system would still accept the existing token system and Touch ‘n Go card payments system. However, with the new system coming soon, this also means that Touch ‘n Go will no longer be the monopoly cashless payment system for public transportation.
While many would have to wait till 2024 to be able to use their debit and credit cards at Rapid KL’s rapid rail network, it was revealed that KTM users have the privilege of being the first to try out the new system. According to the Transport Minister, the new gantries at KTM stations will accept debit and credit card payments starting mid-November!
So will you be trying out the new open payment system at KTM stations next month?
