The application of pre-paid cash card for consumers

A cash card is a pre-paid debit card that enables the holders to make purchases and have them deducted from the card's available balance. (Defination from Creditor Web). While, others defination of pre-paid card is a payment card such as MasterCard, Maestro, Visa Electron and Amex, pre loaded with your own money, which you can then use wherever the payment card is accepted, including in the internet and on board.

Pre-paid cash card has become more and more important nowadays, since it is convenient, easy to get and easy to carry. When you are using the public transportation daily or even you have your own car, in order to pass the thousand and thousand tolls around Kuala Lumpur, pre-paid card such as touch n Go is a smart choice, it save your time to pay the tolls instead of giving money, sometimes you do not have small change, and same as the toll fees collector, it is quite inconvenient, paying fees by money also waste your time as you need to queue, sometimes the long queue will make you crazy, so using touch n Go somehow is a smart choice.

Some example of Pre-paid cash card: Oyster Card in London, England

The picture showed us that, the British use the pre paid cash card to pay the public transportation fees, Oyster cars is similar with touch n Go in our country, is a travelcard that can be used as a tram pass or annual "bus ticket". The main function of pre-paid cash card is using it when you are taking a public transport, there are many countries in the world have this kind of card such as Octopus in Hong Kong, Ezlink card in Singapore to name a few.

Besides that, a pre-paid cash card such as debit card, can be used to buy the goods you want and pay the bill. You can pay insurance, rental fees, electricity bills and water bills and car payment by using the debit card. UTAR and Public Bank also work together, in order to let UTARian can pay their study fees by using the PB Debit card in UTAR campus by charging RM1 service charge. If you pay the study fees by using bank draft, it had a service charge which costs RM5 and RM2.50 service charge by using online paying (go to any PB branch to pay the student fees). So, having a pre-paid cash card is more cost saving and convenient.

Along with these, you can withdraw money anytime as long as there is a ATM Machine, pre-paid cash card provide this kind of application as well. But, it will cost you a higher service charge. Some of the pre-paid cash cards provide you the service by sending and receiving money via bank wire transfer, between two cards. It is very useful and accepted by most of us since it is fast and easy.

In Malaysia, touch n Go can be used to pay the parking fees in some selected place such as 1-Utama shopping complex, Sungei Wang Plaza, Cyberjaya, KLIA, LCCT and so on. It lead Malaysia to a ticketless packing century, and it is an environmental friendly service. Since, it is ticketless, we can save the paper, save the trees and save our earth. Theme park entrance fees can be paid by a pre-paid cash card too such as Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort, it is the one and only theme park in Malaysia which we can pay the entrance fees by using touch n Go.

Touch n Go -The most popular Pre-paid cash card in Malaysia

Some uniqueness of pre-paid cash card in overseas:

Octopus card is a pre-paid cash card that designed for both tranpost and non-transport purposes. You can use the Octopus card in Hong Kong very many usages. It is a multi-usage card which can pay any fees and buy the products, and it can even be the access card to some selected place such as school.

Ezlink card that designed by Singaporean is a useful pre-paid cash card as well. There are numerous reloading points around and a wide range of channels, that you can top up your pre-paid card easily. You can reload the card in every LRT, MRT stations in Singapore, ATM machine too. Ezlink card has provided a auto top up service that card holders need to earn reward from the respective issuing banks for utilising auto top up, so that card holder always has the sufficient money in the card to travel.

Reference:

1.) http://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/

2.)http://www.what-prepaid-card.co.uk

3.)www.touchngo.com.my

4.)www.hong-kong-travel.org/Octopus.asp

5.)www.ezlink.com.sg