A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed at NTUC Club on 18 November 1997 to pave the way for the creation of a smart card for 500,000 members of trade unions, labour cooperatives and NTUC Club.

NTUC Link, as the smart card will be called, will be developed as a $18 million joint venture among the NTUC, its cooperatives (FairPrice, INCOME, Childcare, Choice Homes, Denticare, ElderCare, Healthcare, Foodfare, Media), NTUC Club, the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) and the National Computer Board (NCB).

A second MOU will be signed between the NTUC Group and key providers such as the Network for Electronic Transfers (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Netrust and National Library Board.

The signing ceremonies will be witnessed by Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister without Portfolio and NTUC Secretary-General, who initiated the project in 1994 so as to streamline the administration of union membership and provide more benefits for members.

Initially, the function was to have been held on 17 October 1997. But it was postponed as Mr Lim was not able to be present because of the death of his father. The NTUC and NCB wanted Mr Lim to be at the ceremony because of his involvement in the project.

We need to upgrade our level of services to union members. As of now, people need to produce their NTUC Clubcards to identify themselves as union members so as to gain entry into NTUC facilities, and get rebates from FairPrice and discounts from various other outlets.

NTUC Link will not only replace a member’s NTUC Clubcard but also serve other purposes. It can be used as a cashcard and an ATM card. NTUC Link can be used to make public telephone calls and to pay for Electronic Road Pricing, monthly Area Licences, taxi fares and library services. With NTUC Link, a member can do electronic shopping and do transactions with various government departments.

Cashcard applications

Electronic commerce

A holder of NTUC Link will be issued with a Netrust digital certificate which is equivalent to his signature or thumbprint in cyberspace. This will enable him to do these things on the Internet and Singapore One:

NETS ATM Services

NTUC Link will function as a NETS ATM card which a member can use to withdraw money from any NETS ATM outlet.

A key feature of the smart card is the introduction of the NTUC Link Loyalty Scheme. Points will be awarded to members patronising participating outlets. These loyalty points can be converted into gifts and other concessions.

NTUC Link will help make it easier for a worker to remain in the labour movement when he changes jobs. There is no need for the worker to re-apply to join another union, or the General Branch. And if the member changes addresses, he can easily key in the details.

At administrative level, the smart card will facilitate greater sharing of resources and synergy within the NTUC Group. It will raise productivity through less paper work.

The NTUC welcomes NCB’s participation in the smart card as it makes NTUC Link a national project. NTUC Link will benefit from NCB’s expertise in smart card technology and project management.

The project is in line with NCB’s effort to promote electronic commerce. With a 500,000 base, NTUC Link will help establish Singapore as a centre for electronic activities, and attract more on-line providers here.

The 10,000 elected union members will get their NTUC Link cards in April 1998

Phase II

The 240,000 rank-and-file union members will be issued with their cards by December 1998.

The remaining 250,000 cards will be issued to NTUC INCOME policyholders, members of NTUC FairPrice and other labour cooperatives, and associate members of NTUC Club by August 1999.

Once the 500,000 cards are in use, NTUC Link will live up to its catchline: Everywhere for Everyone. The NTUC will be the biggest issuer of smart cards.

The NTUC is also going to work jointly with MINDEF to see in what way they can expand smart card operations. If MINDEF’s 300,000 smart card base is added to NTUC’s 500,000, we will have an even more attractive base for service providers.

"We believe NTUC Link will save costs as handling of cash will be reduced. We will pass whatever cost savings to our customers. Cashless payment will be more convenient to consumers. The Loyalty Bonus Scheme will be an additional benefit to NTUC Link cardholders."

"NTUC INCOME is pleased to be part of this project. NTUC Link will enable us to enhance our services to our customers. These include the purchase of insurance products through the Internet and Singapore One. We also plan to allow our policyholders to use the NTUC Link to obtain instant policy loans through any of the ATM machines which dispenses cash. We will be looking into recording the medical status of our health insurance policyholders in their NTUC Link cards. This will facilitate admission to hospitals and other medical care."

"Netrust is pleased to be working on this project. This is indeed a win-win situation for all parties. With our digital certificate, NTUC Link cardholders will be able to access many government and financial services from the comfort of their homes. The large NTUC membership base will attract many new service providers to come on board."

Mr Ben Yeo
General Manager
NETRUST