ROAD users will soon be allowed to pay highway tolls using the services of any digital payment provider, not just Touch ‘n Go, Works Minister Fadillah Yusof said.

He said it will be up to the public to decide whether they want to use Touch ‘n Go e-wallet, debit or credit card or any sort of electronic payment system as long as there is a link available on the highways.

“This will, however, depend on when the radio frequency identification (RFID) penetration reaches a satisfactory rate and when highway concessionaires are ready to link up with additional online payment providers,” he told Free Malaysia Today.

“We have been paying attention to people’s demand to have more options at tolls and we know that people are also complaining about Touch ‘n Go method of paying in advance before using,

“Malaysian Highway Authority is trying to make sure it will be convenient for the public to embrace the online mode of payment.”  

Last week, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said road users must be given the option of using either the RFID system, Touch ‘n Go or SmartTag at toll gates. 

He said this was decided by the cabinet that road users must be given a choice as they were when Touch ‘n Go was introduced in its early years and cash payments were still allowed to continue. 

“Users must be given the freedom (to decide) whether to use RFID, Touch ‘n Go or SmartTag,” he said in Putrajaya. 

Toll transactions using RFID for private light vehicles were implemented on the North-South Expressway from the Juru toll plaza in Penang to the Skudai toll plaza in Johor from 10pm on January 15.

However, motorists vented their anger on social media, with many claiming the congestion was caused by concessionaire PLUS Expressways Berhad replacing SmartTag lanes at some tolls with RFID, forcing SmartTag users to queue in Touch ‘n Go lanes. 

Ismail said the RFID system, which was introduced to speed up travelling time, is a good suggestion but motorists must also be given an option since the system is a pioneer project and will need time to be fine-tuned. – January 25, 2022.