A REVIEW ON A POST ON E-TAILING FROM MY E-COMMERCE BLOG: USING TOUCH N GO CARD TO BUY FAST FOOD IN MALAYSIA WILL BE A REALITY

The next time you go to a fast-food stall for your burger or doughnut, need not worry if you have forgotten your money as all you need is your Touch ’n Go card.

Now, one can buy such items from 21 outlets in the Klang Valley under a pilot scheme for the Touch ‘n Go card which is currently a toll, public transport and parking paying device.

The outlets are from A&W, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donut, 7-Eleven, Carrefour hypermarkets, Caltex convenience stores and Cineleisure.

According to Touch ’n Go chief operating officer, Hasni Zarina Mohamed Khan, this project would be the start of the card being used for retail purchase. Describing it as a natural progression, she pointed out that the card was an electronic purse and supports Bank Negara’s move for a cashless society.

She said even for the Octopus card – the transit electronic purse in Hong Kong that is one of the most successful in the world – only 20% of the holders use it for retail purchase.

Consumers need not worry about hidden cost because all the chain stores have an agreement that there will be no extra charges for those using Touch ’n Go cards compared to those using cash. If the item is RM1 then it will still be RM1 if you are using Touch ’n Go card to make payment.

Hasni Zarina also said that cardholders could top up the value of their cards to RM1,000 and need not worry if the cards were lost or stolen.

What they need to do is to inform the management immediately if card were stolen and they will block the card. Then a new card with the remaining value will be issued to replace the stolen card.

The card could also be a good way of controlling children’s spending as this could be their one card from taking public transport to buying their lunch or snacks.

by Leong Yen Teng