Cashless payments in Singapore: Methods and Benefits

This article was produced in partnership with Curatedition.

Like most families in Singapore, daily life can be busy, even hectic. From ferrying little ones to school or day care and enrichment classes, to tackling household chores, running errands, and if your elderly parents live with you, ensuring that they are well cared for.

With multiple schedules to juggle, you want to be able to do things quickly and efficiently. Time is precious. No waiting in line in long queues to draw cash from the ATM or having to write and drop off a cheque to make payment.

Living in a Cashless Society in Singapore

Singapore today is heading closer to its goal of becoming a Smart Nation. ATM withdrawals have gone down significantly and the country aims to be cheque-free by 2025. As early adapters of a cashless society, many establishments are supporting e-payments options, allowing you to confidently head out with just your smartphone in your pocket.

After all, your mobile device can do just about anything, be it giving directions to the nearest hawker centre or food court, booking a cab for your elderly parents to get to their regular health check appointments, tracking your retirement investments or family’s insurance plans, to snapping wefies with your family.

When it comes to banking and handling money matters however, you may not be making the most of your smartphone. We show you how your smartphone can take the hassle out of your daily tasks and let you spend time where it matters - with your family.

How does Cashless Payment Work?

Whether you’re buying extra value meals at McDonald’s for your family, paying for that year-end family trip to Disneyland, or clearing a household expense bill, your phone can easily make contactless cashless payments using mobile payment apps.

Setting up your cashless payment app is also easy. Take for example the DBS PayLah! app — simply download it for free from the Google Play Store or the App Store and install it on your phone. Register and link your bank account to your app or top up your DBS PayLah! wallet to ensure you have enough funds for your transactions. Once set up, your DBS PayLah! contactless payment app is ready for use via fund transfer or by scanning a QR code to pay.

So why wait till you get home to do your banking on the computer when you can make instant cashless payments in Singapore or abroad, grab great grocery deals or coordinated casualwear from Zalora for everyone in the family through cashless shopping!

Cashless Payment Methods in Singapore

Scan QR Code and pay contactless with your phone

Running out of cash used to be a problem, but not anymore. With your smartphone, you don’t have to hunt down an ATM or dig for loose change to buy your favourite kaya toast and kopi or breakfast buns for the family. Today, more and more merchants, food court and hawker stalls in Singapore accept cashless payment methods so you can pay for your purchase using cashless payment apps via your device.

Just scan the QR code to pay using a mobile banking app like POSB digibank or DBS PayLah! enter the amount to pay, and you’re done. Or, if you’re in a cab and you realise you’ve forgotten your wallet, there’s no need to turn back. You can pay contactless with your phone for your Comfort or CityCab taxi ride with the same cashless payment apps.

Send and receive money with just a mobile number

Want to transfer money to your parents account? Instead of worrying whether you have enough cash on you, you can make instant cashless payments on your smartphone, and not worry about getting the bank account numbers right because you can now pay by phone number. To send money, all you need is the recipient’s mobile number or NRIC/FIN that has been registered for POSB PayNow.

And if you’re headed for a home dinner party and still don’t know what to gift your host, you won’t go wrong with the gift of a virtual red packet. When you send an eAngbao via DBS PayLah! your recipient will also receive a visual of a red packet. How’s that for eco-friendly convenience?

Request for funds through mobile payment apps

When dining out with other families, it’s common practice for one person to foot the bill first, and split it later with whoever else is paying. Your turn this time? Ask your relatives or family members to pay you their share using DBS PayLah!. To make it simpler for them, the cashless payment app can generate a QR code or payment link that can be shared via a text or Whatsapp message.

Benefits of Going Cashless

Go big on what matters most: more family time

With your busy life managing work and family, all you want are more hours in the day to spend with the people you care about.

Big on savings and precious moments

Whether you and your family love regular holidays together or eating at family-friendly restaurants, you probably know you can save quite a lot of money by using the right credit cards to earn you reward points or cash-back benefits. If you’ve been putting off getting a new card because of the hassle to apply, now you have no more excuse. Yes, you can simply do it on your smartphone – you won’t even need to open a fresh page on your internet browser.

Get on the fast lane at cashier counters

Family outings can be hectic enough with the little ones in tow. Imagine having to stand in a long queue for your food only to fumble at the cashier as you count cash or look for your credit card to pay for your order. With contactless payment on your phone, you can easily and quickly pay for your order using your phone via the eatery’s app. You’ll get your food faster than you can say “hangry tantrum”.

Save time, safely and securely with cashless payments

When it comes to settling administrative matters like paying bills and buying insurance or investments for your retirement or children’s education, you’d want the transactions done swiftly and securely. Using your smartphone, download cashless payment apps with enhanced security features to make it possible. These easy security tips will help protect you when making cashless payments!

Travel with peace of mind

With all the pre-trip planning and packing you have to do before a holiday, buying insurance to cover the entire family might have slipped your mind till the very last minute. Don’t panic; you can purchase a travel insurance plan just before your departure with a few quick taps on the phone. It takes just a few minutes.

Payments made easier

If you find it hard managing your monthly bill payments, clearing them as soon as you get them will help you stay on top of the task and avoid incurring late interest charges. On top of that, payments made via cheque will take a few days to be credited into your account, or if paying via machine, you still have to find one nearest to you.

With cashless payment apps, convenience is in your hands as you can skip the hassle of writing cheques or looking for automated machines for payment. The cashless payment apps downloaded through your smartphone are useful cashless payment methods to help you settle your phone and utilities bills, town council fees, insurance premiums, and more, even as you’re on the move.

Tip: Did you know you can simply scan the barcode of the bill* or the face of your credit card (for credit card bills) with your mobile to capture the billing details instead of keying them in? What’s more, you won’t need the physical token when completing simple transactions on your mobile, like checking the account balance, with the enhanced digital token.

*Service is available for top billing organisations in POSB digibank.

Don’t have DBS PayLah!? Download Now!