Published Thu, Jan 22, 2026 · 08:30 AM
[SINGAPORE] Customers of local telco Circles.Life will need to pay almost double in platform fees from Feb 1, with the move drawing criticism from some quarters online.
The fee will go up to S$0.70 from S$0.30, and directly goes towards funding improvements and new services, the operator said in an e-mail to its customers.
Checks by The Straits Times showed that Circles.Life is the only mobile operator here to impose a platform fee.
In a media reply, Circles.Life on Jan 21 said it is the only telecoms operator that is “running a self-developed and locally built digital platform”, and invests continuously “to bring customers smarter and more rewarding services”.
The telco said it has enhanced its “innovative lifestyle services” from early 2026 to “give more value to customers”.
These include updated access to the latest artificial intelligence tools, including GPT-5.2, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash, Perplexity Sonar, DALL-E and Whisper.
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Circles.Life said it has also upgraded its cashback programme, and will launch a virtual debit card.
The previous fee was introduced on May 1, 2025.
According to Circles.Life’s website, the platform fee is meant to “support the improvement of overall user experience, enabling us to bring even more value to all our customers”.
The website also states that customers cannot have their platform fee waived, as it is an “important part of ensuring the continued enhancement of our services”.
CirclesLife said there are currently no plans to increase the platform fee again, which it reviews regularly to “ensure it remains fair, transparent, and aligned with the value we deliver to customers”.
However, it added that any changes will be carefully considered and clearly communicated in advance, with a “strong focus on customer value and experience”.
The fee hike was not well received by some on social media, who questioned the need for Circles.Life to add on these features to its app. Some also described the telco’s app as “bloated” with add-ons. THE STRAITS TIMES
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