CEPAS

CEPAS

CEPAS

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CEPAS, the Specification for Contactless e-Purse Application, is a Singaporean specification for an electronic money smart card. The specification was prepared by the Cards and Personnel Identification Technical Committee (CPITC), under the purview of the IT Standard Committee of Singapore (ITSCS). It has been gazetted as Singapore Standard SS 518 by Enterprise Singapore.[1] CEPAS has been deployed island-wide, replacing the previous original EZ-Link card effective 1 October 2009.[2]

Quick Facts Location, Launched ...

Function

The CEPAS provides the command sets and data bytes that can be used for contactless e-purse applications, and focuses on the debit and credit areas. The most recent version of the standard is CEPAS 2.0. The standard allows for the interoperability of multi-purpose stored value (MPSV) card payment schemes from different card issuers and system operators.

Background

CEPAS is spearheaded by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), and is one of the key next generation e-Payment initiatives under Singapore's iN2015 infocomm masterplan led by IDA.[3] The vision of CEPAS is for Singaporeans to have a single MPSV card for use all around Singapore for micro-payments. This includes transit (bus, MRT, LRT), taxi, motoring (ERP, parking), retail, and other services.

CEPAS is a result of close collaboration by IDA with different industry players and the Land Transport Authority (LTA). The other key collaborators are the Cards & Personal Identification Technical Committee (CPITC) under the Singapore IT Standards Committee (ITSC), Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) and EZ-Link Pte Ltd (EZ-Link). CEPAS was published by SPRING Singapore as SS 518 and was officially launched during the CEPAS Launch & Next Generation e-Payment seminar on 27 June 2006, held at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.[3]

Current and future payment landscape

The current micro-payment landscape in Singapore is fragmented with different standards, with two main players, NETS and EZ-Link. EZ-Link controls the transit space and NETS controls the motoring (ERP, parking) space. NETS also dominates the retail space, with EZ-Link having limited presence. Cards and readers from both providers cannot currently interoperate and consumers hold different cards for payment of different services and goods.

CEPAS aims to open and level the micro-payment playing field. For example, NETS card holders will be able to use their cards to pay for transit and EZ-Link card holders for retail and motoring payments. For merchants, the overall operation cost is intended to be lower and the market space larger.[citation needed]

CEPAS-compliant EZ-Link cards have been available for sale from 29 December 2008.[4]

Technical details of CEPAS 2.0

The commands in this standard follow the convention in ISO/IEC 7816-4: 2005. The main commands are "Read Purse", "Debit Purse" and "Credit Purse". The design allows for partial refund and is limited to the most recent amount debited. The "AutoLoad" and "Cumulative Debit" features are also available. In this standard, key management for controlling e-purse operations is flexible and the final details are decided by the card issuer. Atomicity is a key focus in this standard to ensure reliability of transactions across multiple interfaces.

Transaction processing methods

See also: Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) § Ticketing, and Fares and ticketing on the Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)

Card-based Offline Debit

The CEPAS-compliant EZ-Link and NETS FlashPay cards released in 2009 operate as offline cards, intended for farecards in transit systems and micropayments in retail. As transactions are processed offline without having to maintain an active network connection to the bank for processing, lower transaction fees are incurred compared to debit and credit cards.

More information Payment Mode, Description ...

Account-based Online Debit

In 2017, the Land Transport Authority began an account-based ticketing trial to expand the range of e-payment options and eliminate the need for top-ups in transit. In 2019, the system was officially launched as SimplyGo. It allowed credit cards (Visa, Mastercard) and mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) to be used in the transit system, in addition to the existing CEPAS EZ-Link and NETS FlashPay cards.[9][10]

In September 2020, LTA began a trial to expand the account-based ticketing system to CEPAS cards, which were conventionally based on a card-based ticketing system. The reason given for pushing the account-based ticketing system was that it removed the need for physical trips to top-up machines. As the card information is stored on a central server under account-based ticketing, access to travel history and card top-ups can be done remotely through mobile apps, without needing the card to be physically present.[11][12]

The account-based EZ-Link Card was launched in January 2021,[13] and the account-based NETS Prepaid Card was launched in November 2022.[14] These account-based cards replaced the former EZ-Link and NETS FlashPay cards that supported card-based ticketing. Transactions using account-based cards are processed backend, hence commuters are unable to see their fare deduction and card value balance at MRT fare gates and bus readers.

On 10 January 2024, LTA announced that EZ-Link adult cards which have not yet been upgraded to SimplyGo and NETS FlashPay cards will no longer be accepted for public transport fare payment from 1 June 2024 due to phasing out of the legacy card-based ticketing system. Commuters with EZ-Link Adult Cards may upgrade to the SimplyGo system at any ticketing machine and retain their current cards, while commuters with NETS FlashPay Cards may exchange their current card for a free NETS Prepaid Card at SimplyGo Ticket Offices or Ticketing Service Centres.[15][16]

More information Payment Mode, Description ...

Criticisms

There has been some criticisms by the public that the auto-top up service by GIRO for the new CEPAS card will require an administration fee for activation as well as for each top-up. In contrast, auto-top up for the original EZ-Link card was free. Also, the public has complained that there is now more hassle in applying for this service in contrast to the relatively easier process for the original version.[18]

LTA's announcement on 10 January 2024 about the discontinuation of the card-based ticketing EZ-Link & NETS FlashPay Cards and mandatory transition to the account-based ticketing SimplyGo EZ-Link & NETS Prepaid Cards drew negative reception from the public. The concerns that were raised include the inability to view fares & card balances at the gantry. The public felt that the SimplyGo user experience for stored-value cards is unnecessarily complicated and over-reliant on mobile apps, which creates inconveniences for the elderly, children, and less tech-savvy demographics of the population.[19][20][21] The decision was reversed by the authorities on 22 January 2024, and existing EZ-Link & NETS FlashPay cards can continue to be used after 1 June 2024.[22]

  • Payment Cards/Logos
  • Back of a CEPAS NETS FlashPay card

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Singapore Standard SS 518 (ICS 35.240.15) Specification for Contactless e-purse application. Enterprise Singapore. 2006. ISBN 981-4154-26-1.
  2. [2]
    Land Transport Authority (2 December 2009). "SeP Ready For Implementation". Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  3. [3]
    Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (23 January 2008). "Specification for Contactless e-Purse Application (CEPAS)". Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  4. [4]
    EZ-Link Pte Ltd (26 December 2008). "Commencement of sale of the NEW CEPAS-Compliant EZ-Link card". Retrieved 4 April 2009. [dead link]
  5. [5]
    "Expiring EZ-Link cards before 31st Dec 2023 - EZ-Link".
  6. [6]
    "Singapore's LTA Sees Strong Take-Up of Open-Loop Payments but has No Plans to End Closed Loop - Mobility Payments".
  7. [7]
    "EZ-Link Motoring card - EZ-Link".
  8. [8]
    "NETS - Announcements".
  9. [9]
    "LTA launches digital payment scheme for public transport". The Straits Times. 4 April 2019. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  10. [10]
    "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - TransitLink SimplyGo".
  11. [11]
    "LTA Launches SimplyGo Pilot On EZ-Link Cards - LTA".
  12. [12]
    "Account-based EZ-Link cards available for use in Public Transport from 28 Jan - LTA".
  13. [13]
    "EZ-Link launches account-based cards that allow top-ups through mobile app". CNA. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  14. [14]
    https://www.nets.com.sg/newsroom/nets-launches-nets-prepaid-card-its-first-smart-stored-value-card-for-retail-and-transit
  15. [15]
    "Non-SimplyGo EZ-Link, NETS FlashPay cards not valid for public transport from June".
  16. [16]
    "EZ-Link Adult Cardholders and NETS FlashPay Cardholders to Transit to SimplyGo for Public Transport Fare Payments by 1 June".
  17. [17]
    "NETS launches 'smart' stored-value card for retail and transit".
  18. [18]
    The Straits Times (15 September 2009). "Have a card to rival EZ-link". Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  19. [19]
    "CNA Explains: Why some Singapore commuters are upset about moving from EZ-Link to SimplyGo". CNA.
  20. [20]
    "Commuters run into problems upgrading EZ-Link cards amid complaints over switch to SimplyGo". CNA.
  21. [21]
    "Displaying fares, deductions at gantries under SimplyGo possible but 'will lead to longer queues': LTA". TODAY.
  22. [22]
    Tjoe, Lee Nian; Yufeng, Kok (22 January 2024). "LTA shelves plan to replace older public transport payment cards with SimplyGo by June 1". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
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