Yesterday, it was reported that Touch ‘n Go parent company CIMB Group Holdings had filed a notice of arbitration dated December 17 against PLUS in a bid to stop the highway concessionaire from introducing its own radio-frequency identification (RFID) toll collection system. According to CIMB, PLUS’ introduction of its own RFID system breaches the obligations under the Touch ‘n Go joint venture, which CIMB, its wholly-owned subsidiary CIMB SI 1 and PLUS entered into an agreement with back in May 1998. Now, PLUS has officially confirmed that it has been served the arbitration notice, but the concessionaire is not backing down on its decision to proceed with its own RFID system. In a press statement, PLUS said it firmly believes that the recent launch of the PLUS RFID targeted pilot will promote choices to the rakyat. The company said it offers options and convenience for customers to pay as you use, with credit and debit cards, in addition to the existing e-wallet and prepaid mode of payment provided by Touch ‘n Go. Citing that Touch ‘n Go’s e-wallet and prepaid payment remains one of the options in the PLUS RFID targeted pilot, PLUS said it therefore believes that it is not in breach of any agreement. It added that providing additional choices to highway users should be considered a virtue, in line with the spirit of the Touch ‘n Go agreement to provide users the best customer service, and said it was looking forward to making its case in the… [Read full story]
There can be only one. Or there should be only one, in the case of RFID-based toll payment collection. The Star reports that Touch ‘n Go parent company CIMB Group Holdings is seeking to halt PLUS from introducing its own radio-frequency identification (RFID) toll collection system, first announced last month. The financial institution said it has filed a notice of arbitration dated December 17 on PLUS. In May 1998, CIMB, CIMB SI 1 and PLUS entered into a joint venture agreement in relation to Touch ‘n Go – CIMB says that PLUS’ introduction of its own RFID system breaches the obligations under the Touch ‘n Go JV. “The company and CIMB SI 1 are, amongst others, seeking an injunction to restrain PLUS from engaging in further business of the PLUS RFID system together with damages, interests and costs,” it said in a filing with the Bursa. On November 19, PLUS had announced that its RFID pilot project was set to begin trials on December 15 at four locations, these being the Penang Bridge toll plaza, the Kubang Semang and Lunas toll plazas on the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE) and the Jitra toll plaza in Kedah. The PLUS RFID system differs from the Touch ‘n Go RFID system, which began trials in early September ahead of an official rollout in January 2019, is in the method of payment. While the latter uses the Touch ‘n Go eWallet that needs to be topped up, PLUS’ product is an open payment system, tied to… [Read full story]