Dozens more toll gate lanes are set to go live with tap payment points before the end of the year, reducing the likelihood of card cloning and making it possible to use debit cards for payments at more toll gates.
That is according to feedback from FNB, which has been piloting the “new-age” user-activated pay points over the past two years.
South African motorists have had four payment options at most toll gates in the country over the past decade — cash, credit or fuel card, or e-tag.
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) has increasingly encouraged the use of cashless options, which are faster and more convenient.
The country’s major toll concessionaires — who maintain long-distance tolled routes on behalf of Sanral — have all rolled out dedicated card lanes for those who prefer not to use cash.
However, one of the major risks of making a card payment at a toll gate is that it requires handing over your card to a toll collector.
Data on card fraud from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre has often shown that toll gates are a hotspot for card cloning.
Many banks have generally recommended that their customers not give their cards to merchants or at least always keep their eyes on their cards while they are out of their own hands.
However, the booths’ height and small windows often make it difficult for motorists to see what is being done with their cards.
That makes it easy for malicious toll collectors to insert the card into a skimmer to copy its details for cloning.
In recent years, self-service tap payments have been selectively rolled out in dedicated card lanes at some toll gates. However, these machines have been hit-and-miss, often failing to detect cards.
FNB previously explained that a major problem had been a lack of Internet connectivity at toll gates, which has since improved.
The bank first announced that it was testing its own tap payment points at unspecified toll gates in June 2022.
In December 2023, it announced a pilot of newer tap points at several toll gates managed by N3TC, in collaboration with Mastercard, Visa, and Verifone.
In recent feedback, FNB Transact Pillar CEO Daniel Kaan told MyBroadband that this pilot has been a huge success.
Kaan explained that over half the FNB customers paying with cards at the enrolled toll gates used the contactless pay points.
“Feedback from the pilot has been highly positive as contactless payments continue to be popular amongst consumers as a quick, secure, and convenient way to pay than swiping or inserting a card,” said Kaan.
It should be noted that the tap points support all Mastercard and Visa cards with contactless support, but FNB only has access to payment data from its own customers.
Kaan said that over 80 toll gate lanes on the N3TC route are ready to be switched on with the tap points from August to December 2024.
These will be located at the De Hoek, Wilge, Tugela, and Mooi River plazas, as well as on and off ramps along the N3.
Kaan said there are also 81 lanes with tap payment terminals installed along the N4 between Pretoria and Mozambique.
These are located at the Diamond Hill, Middleburg, Machado, and Nkomazi plazas, as well as the route’s on- and off-ramps.
In addition to reducing the likelihood of cloning, the toll gate tap payment system supports debit cards, which in-booth terminals do not.
Motorists can also use digital wallets on their smartphone or smartwatch to make payments.
Bom’khaya, tap and go to pay for your toll fees at selected N3 tolls by adding your FNB Virtual Card to your Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet. ⌚📱
Reply using #LoveFNB and tell us what works best for you when paying for your toll fees
— FNB South Africa (@FNBSA) April 5, 2024
MyBroadband recently travelled on the route and found tap payment points available in nearly all the lanes at each of the four main toll gates.
We used Samsung Pay linked to an FNB virtual credit card to pay tolls at the De Hoek and Wilge plazas.
Kaan said the solution has been beneficial to the toll concessionaires, issuers, acquirers, and cardholders.
FNB is planning to launch more tap points at various toll gates in the coming year.
“We are also currently rolling out the solution at Chapman’s Peak in Cape Town and plan to expand it to other toll plazas over the next 12 months,” Kaan said.