“It causes a strain on our system,” a company spokesman told FMT, adding that the strain would affect the convenience of other users.
Cards will become dormant after being inactive for 12 consecutive months. A dormant card requires exceptional handling and an administrative fee, just like reactivating a dormant bank account, the company said.
“Customers are encouraged to use their cards to avoid dormancy and to register them on the portal for security purposes.”
The officer referred to MIFARE, the technology the physical TNG card uses, explaining that it allows transactions to take place only when the card contacts a reader.
“That’s why we can’t transfer the balance to another card and why we move the balance back to the user’s personal bank accounts,” he said.
“It’s also why we encourage more people to register their cards on our portal for safety reasons.”
In an effort to improve the company’s e-refund service, the spokesman said TNG was now processing refund requests within seven days, reducing the period from 30 days.
Refunds for dormant TNG cards are currently credited only into bank accounts maintained in Malaysia. The customer ID and bank account holder’s name must match.
The spokesman also clarified that the reload service fee of 50 sen was charged by third-party vendors providing the service, not TNG.
These vendors include self-service kiosks and selected supermarkets, book stores, pharmacies and petrol stations.
“We continue to make available more reload options for users without this fee,” the spokesman said.
He said parking operators imposed a surcharge for payments through TNG cards to foot the costs of operation and maintenance. The fee is shared between both parties based on an agreed cost.
“To date, we have over 200 surcharge-free sites for consumers to enjoy our services,” he said. “We are also working with providers to progressively eliminate surcharges.”
A number of card users recently complained on Twitter about the added fees they had to pay when using TNG services. Some called for action from the government.
“Touch n Go is a legit scam,” wrote @NHA_HusnAhmad. “Can’t reload using their app, can’t cash out your money if you don’t use it. You’ll be charged extra 10% if you use it for parking. What else?”
User @bingregory tweeted: “Riyals, dollars and dirhams still can use 10 years later, but this plastic KL money disappears after one year. Tell me again why I should bother with this scam @MyTouchnGo?”
Many are upset that they have to pay extra charges when reloading their cards at LRT or MRT train stations.
User @izlzhr wrote: “Maybank MAE: no transaction charge. Samsung Pay: no transaction charge. Literally thousands of pay wave cards: no transaction charge. Touch n Go: Got transaction charge plus tax.”