Addressing Hawker’s Cashless Woes, NETS Launches Same-Day Payment Settlement
by Fintech News Singapore January 17, 2019NETS today announced the launch of same-day settlement for hawkers every day – which they claim to be the fastest in the industry.
Despite the Singapore’s fervent push for a cashless society, there are still resistance from some segments of the society. Hawkers being among one of them have often cited to have multiple barriers to accepting cashless transactions, one such challenge is the speed of settlement — which NETS is attempting to address.
As a very central part of Singaporeans’ food staple, having hawkers adopt cashless payments would go a long one in realising Singapore’s cashless ambitions.
The initiative will enable hawkers to receive their sales proceeds in their bank account the same business day, giving them faster access to their funds and improving cash flow.
No special arrangements are required to enjoy the benefit of same-day settlement – all NETS transactions made before 5pm will be credited to the hawkers’ DBS, OCBC or UOB bank accounts by 11pm the same day.
NETS transactions made after 5pm will be credited to the hawkers’ bank accounts before 9am the next business day. This allows hawkers to make their own payments to their suppliers and vendors before the start of the work day for most businesses. The initiative was made possible through a collaboration between NETS and its merchant banks, DBS, OCBC and UOB.
NETS hopes the move will encourage more hawkers to adopt e-payments. It comes on the back of a series of initiatives to propagate e-payments at such establishments including the launch of QR code payments at Tanjong Pagar Food Centre in September 2017, the acceptance of EZ-Link and concession card payments on NETS terminals in hawker centres and the appointment of NETS as master acquirer to implement a unified e-payment solution at coffee shops, hawker centres and industrial canteens in September 2018.
Ang Sok Hong
Ang Sok Hong, Head of Sales at NETS, said,
“The hawker business is like any other in that you not only have to collect payments, you also have to make payments. We’ve taken away the hassle of collection by introducing QR code and other e-payment options and now with same-day settlement, stallholders will be able to settle supplier payments and other business expenses more easily.”
Featured image credit: NETS
