The Singapore EZ-Link card is the classic answer to how you pay for the MRT and buses, but it’s no longer the only one — and for most short trips, it isn’t even the best one. Here’s how the EZ-Link card, the Singapore Tourist Pass, and just tapping a foreign contactless bank card actually compare.
Option 1: A contactless bank card
If your debit or credit card supports contactless payment, you can tap it directly at MRT gates and on buses — no card to buy, no top-up, no queue. Singapore’s SimplyGo system charges the standard adult fare automatically. The only cost is a S$0.60 per day administration fee applied to foreign-issued Visa/Mastercard, which is deducted once regardless of how many trips you take that day. For a short visit with only occasional MRT rides, this is usually the simplest option with nothing to set up in advance.
Option 2: A standard EZ-Link card
A physical EZ-Link card costs S$10, made up of a S$5 non-refundable card fee and S$5 of preloaded stored value. You can buy one at Changi Airport MRT stations, any staffed SimplyGo ticket office, and convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Buzz, and Cheers. Top-ups are simple — cash or card at station machines, ATMs, or the SimplyGo app — and the card is refundable (minus a small handling fee) when you’re done, at any SimplyGo ticket office. It’s the practical choice if you’d rather not put transit charges on a foreign card, or if you’re staying long enough that carrying stored value is more convenient than per-tap admin fees.
Option 3: The Singapore Tourist Pass
The Singapore Tourist Pass is an unlimited-ride card aimed squarely at visitors packing a lot of MRT and bus trips into a few days: S$17 for one day, S$24 for two days, and S$29 for three days, sold at STP kiosks and select outlets (plus online through resellers like Pelago). It includes a refundable deposit, returned when you hand the card back at a kiosk before leaving. The math only works out if you’re genuinely riding often — someone doing four or five MRT trips a day across multiple line changes will get more value from it than someone making two trips to dinner and back, where pay-per-ride on a bank card or EZ-Link card ends up cheaper.
Which one should you actually get?
- Short trip, light MRT use: tap a contactless bank card, nothing to buy.
- Longer stay or you’d rather not use a foreign card on transit: get a standard EZ-Link card and refund it before you fly home.
- Packed sightseeing days with constant MRT hopping: the Singapore Tourist Pass pays for itself.
Whichever you choose, tap in and tap out every time — forgetting to tap out on a bus, in particular, triggers the maximum fare for that route. And note this is entirely separate from the immigration side of your trip: if you haven’t filed one yet, see our guide to the SG Arrival Card, which every visitor needs regardless of how they plan to get around once they land.
For more on the area, see our guides to Getting Around Singapore: MRT, Bus, and Grab Explained and Changi Airport to City Center: MRT, Taxi and Grab Compared.