— overcharge .. How to manage the increasing risks of overcharge

The SimplyGo claim/communication legwork .. Usually tedious but uneventful, but can be stressful (albeit a low amount), confusing, frustrating.

Fact: A successful tap is indicated on the fare gate LCD display. No change on that screen means unsuccessful tap.

• #1 Serenity .. I tend to be obsessed with overcharge. Serenity to accept small wastes [$2/M] just like electricity? Yes, though I prefer zqbx without obsession
• periodic check .. of transaction records.  This might be the only available monitoring. Less than ideal. Legwork, missed mistakes to be accepted with serenity. I feel the (fare) imprecision is widespread, presumably baked-in (or builtin) to maximize peak hour throughput. The imprecision policy leans towards overcharging (the default) rather than permissive undercharging. Such a policy leaves the onus of /vigilance/surveillance to poor commuters.
• Wallet can have multiple cards. Better disable paywave.
• if you suspect you missed entry, then you face two alternative risks
• .. if you go out without tapping [1] you run the risk of over-charge for “missed exit”
• .. if you go out by tapping, you run the risk of over-charge for “missed entry”
• ^^ So if time permits, it’s prudent to check before exit, but how? Best at entrance station control

[1] tailgating? Given that so many commuters get overcharged so many times day in day out, the enforcement system probably won’t arrest you for occasional fare evasion.

— to disable paywave.. is non-trivial. There are always some  forgettable consequences, which could come back to haunt us.

• NTUC cCard blocked for payments, but still good for linkpoints. MRT? Pending
• DBS dCard can disable paywave, and leave only ATM feature
• No way to “disable paywave on OC dCard, but still use it at Shaw” 🙁
• No way to disable paywave on smrt cCard.

— wish list (for an Ideal MRT card)

1. I don’t want noisy transaction history in bank account. Ideally no transaction .. use cash top-up instead.
2. .. For Mastercard, fare charges will be accumulated for up to 5 days or after a total of $15 is spent on transit fares, whichever is earlier.
3. .. For Visa and NETS contactless bank cards, fare charges will be accumulated daily.[1]
4. not needed for any other usage such as ATM, so no need to take out this card
5. LG2: easy top-up
6. easy to replace after expiry

[1] I think this is tricky. The system accumulates fare charges without real-time checking on credit limit, probably for peak-hour latency. When it posts acumulated charges to the bank, it could be denied. In this scenario, the restaurant (SMRT) has served the food and the guest has left, so SMRT has to accept the free meal. In contrast, in a real restaurant, there’s no need for sub-second latency, so each payment is checked against credit limit in real time.

Loss .. TheReality: In our lifetime, which commuter would never lose a MRT card? Probably none. It’s a question of when not if.

1. to minimize loss: low stored value (debitCard has none :). The probability and amount of loss is actually low, and many simple-lifestyle individuals keep $50+ and treat it as a cash card, but this cash card has no PIN protection and is prime target of theft.
2. to minimize loss: Have my name on the card. Whoever pick it up is likely to return it to station staff.

Acceptable choice: the old nameless ezlink card, but need to check the expiry date