Singapore student confused after student EZ-Link card allegedly ‘blacklisted’ over S$20 auto top-up issue
A student in Singapore was left confused after their student EZ-Link card was allegedly “blocked” from public transport use, despite the card showing around S$20 in stored value.
They were later told that they had to settle an outstanding S$20 amount before the card could be used again.
Student EZ-Link card allegedly ‘blacklisted’ at MRT gantry
Sharing their experience on the r/askSingapore subreddit on 3 June, the Original Poster (OP) said they were trying to tap into an MRT station when their student EZ-Link card kept getting rejected at the gantry.
I’m blacklisted from the MRT..???
byu/boredboardss_ inaskSingapore
According to the post, the card appeared to have sufficient value, as the OP had topped it up the day before and still had about S$20 left.
After approaching station staff for help, the OP was reportedly told that the card had been “blocked by the system” and was “blacklisted” from MRT use.
They were also allegedly informed that they would have to pay off a S$20 debt before the card could be unblocked.
Transaction history appeared normal
The OP said they were confused as they use the card almost every day and had never encountered such an issue before.
They also claimed that they had checked their card history and found that all their transactions had gone through normally.
Source: SBS Transit, for illustration purposes only
According to the OP, they had not forgotten to tap out of the MRT or bus at any point.
“In fact, just yesterday I was using it to take the MRT as per usual,” they shared, adding that they had not committed any fraudulent activity involving the card.
Netizens suggest auto top-up issue
The post drew responses from Redditors who suggested several possible reasons for the sudden block.
One netizen asked whether the OP was using the auto top-up function, noting that issues may arise if the linked bank account or payment source is unable to complete the transaction.
Source: Reddit
Another commenter said they had experienced a similar issue when the credit card used for auto top-up expired.
Source: Reddit
A third netizen also pointed out that failing to tap out would not typically result in a card being blacklisted, as users are usually charged the maximum fare instead.
Source: Reddit
The OP later updated the post to say the issue had been resolved, explaining that it was caused by “an auto top up error where the money failed to transfer” to their card.
Card may be blocked if auto top-up payment fails
In response to MS News’ queries, a SimplyGo Pte. Ltd spokesperson explained that for cards enrolled in the Auto Top-up service, the auto top-up amount is first credited to the card when its balance falls below zero.
For illustration purposes only
This allows the cardholder to continue using the card, after which the corresponding Auto Top-up transaction is charged to the cardholder’s registered source of funds.
For the example cited, the spokesperson said one possible reason could be insufficient funds in the registered source of funds.
“As a result, the card was temporarily blocked from further use until the outstanding Auto Top-up amount was settled,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the outstanding amount can be paid at any Top-Up Kiosk or SimplyGo Ticket Office.
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Featured image by TheSmartLocal, for illustration purposes only.
