Source: NETS on Facebook & @ibisbudgetsingapore on Instagram for illustration purposes only
Despite Singapore’s push towards becoming a cashless society, a diner was left wondering why some food stalls in Joo Chiat are still insisting on “cash only” payments.
In a post on r/askSingapore last Sunday (19 July), the Original Poster (OP) shared that they had spotted several “cash only” stalls while exploring the neighbourhood.
These included a popiah stall and tau kua pau stall at Dunman Food Centre, as well as a drinks stall at a nearby coffeeshop.
The OP asked whether hawkers were still avoiding digital payment methods due to platform fees or delayed payouts, having read about these issues previously.
Source: Reddit
They also recounted an embarrassing experience after ordering food from a hawker without checking the payment options.
Realising they had no cash after the dish had been prepared, the OP said they felt so “pai seh” (embarrassed in Hokkien) that they took a bus home to retrieve some cash from their Chinese New Year red packet.
They then headed back to the hawker to pay for the meal.
The post quickly received responses from netizens, with some saying cash-only stalls remain common for a variety of reasons.
A hawker said that they still needed cash to pay their elderly workers, who are not “tech-savvy”, and also to keep as “rolling change”.
Source: Reddit
A commenter also shared that the uncle from the tau kua pau stall at Dunman Food Centre had allegedly fallen victim to fake payment screenshots multiple times, which prompted him to only accept cash.
Source: Reddit
A Redditor felt that it could be due to older and less tech-savvy hawkers who find it too troublesome to set up digital payment methods.
Source: Reddit
Another netizen also pointed out that accepting cash allows hawkers to pay their suppliers directly, while avoiding transaction fees and the risk of payment errors.
Source: Reddit
Mr Ng, 35, who wished to remain anonymous, told MS News that he was in the Joo Chiat area on 13 July.
“It was around lunchtime. I was exploring the area because many of my friends told me, ‘There got a lot of good food’,” the Bishan resident explained.
He shared that he saw at least three food stalls in that area only accepting cash.
“I think there are many reasons cited by various Redditors as to why hawkers haven’t transitioned to digital payment. I suspect they have to pay more for platform fees and probably don’t want to pass it on to their customers,” Mr Ng shared.
According to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), new hawkers adopting the SGQR solution from 1 Jan onwards paid the full Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) without subsidies.
Previously, the Government had subsidised the 0.5% MDR incurred by stallholders on the first S$20,000 of e-payment transactions per stall per month.
However, the subsidy period has since expired on 30 June.
IMDA also encourages stallholders to continue accepting e-payments for consumer convenience and operational efficiency.
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Featured image adapted from NETS on Facebook & @ibisbudgetsingapore on Instagram for illustration purposes only.