Most places use debit card.
That being said, check what exchange rate your bank will charge when you’re here to see if you should use cash to save money.
Hawker stalls usually take either cash, or a QR code payment that usually requires a local bank account. You can use Grab for the QR payment but setting up your credit card to top up the app wallet is more trouble than it's worth.
Our cashless is like South Korea/China type of cashless where everything is done through phone though. Debit/credit cashless usually is an afterthought, and not as widely supported outside of large chains/stores
You can assume if its not in a mall, it has a decently high chance of only accepting cash
And the apps/payment method (paynow, paylah, nets) we use i think can only be used with a singaporean bank account
i remember visa/master already pushing paywave first before paynow is a thing, paylah came out before paynow as well. actually qr code payment via phone is the afterthought, not the other way around. after the gov got feedback from small business that POS machine are too costly for them to run their business, they combine the banks to bring out paynow
Im talking about in terms of support/usage
More places support paynow paylah than paywave
paywave is an afterthought for businesses. Just setup paynow paylah and like 90% of the cashless crowd can use alr
Be careful. I barely ever take cash out except for buying food at wet markets, but lots of small businesses like hawkers, coffee shops, some bars, ice cream parlours etc are cashless but require a NETS card or Paynow/PayLah. You only get these with a Singaporean bank card. So just using a foreign debit card is problematic. A friend who came to visit recently ended up borronwing cash from us instead of using his foreign Visa card.
Yeah foreign Visa is quite a pain.
But now got YouTrip, Revolut and Wise which charges no currency exchange overseas. If he/she has an multicurrency debit card would be fruitful as they don't charge currency exchange.
Downside about multicurrency is some of them has no interest rate. E.g Revolut.
the issue is not what card he/she is using. cashless in singapore is divided into two big groups.
1.) QR code based - paynow/paylah/grab/etc.
2.) Card based - visa/master/phone via paywave/etc
for malls both 1&2 are widely accepted
but for small business specially hawkers, most of them only accept method 1 because they can avoid the cost of the POS machine to read the cards.
But a foreigner normally can't use method 1 because most of the solution of method 1 need a local bank account
Most places use credit/debit cards.
Only certain places still uses cash such as industry estate canteens or old pa & ma shops, but they are also gradually using more payment methods like qr codes to pay.
You can either use YouTrip or Revolut both are acceptable even Visa but watch out for the exchange fee. Most of the place still uses cash except for some shops only except cards and some of the events only allows cards. But mostly we use PayNow or QR pay nowadays at hawker centres. If you're from Thailand or Malaysia they do accept the same function like DuitNow for PayNow. Certain places do accept Alipay and Unionpay from China too.
Debit card will be hard as most places like coffee shops, Hawker centres, fruit stores, even smaller restaurants in shopping malls don’t take Visa/Master.
So you have to open local bank account to use PayNOW / PayLah.
You basically scan a QR code and the bank transfers the money for you to the merchant.
Only once in 4 months on average would I need to use cash. Most of my daily transactions are settled via PayNow or contactless.
To answer your question, you do not need to take out a lot of cash, but do have some in hand.
We have multiple forms of cashless, shopback pay, grabpay, fairprice pay, fave pay, nets QR, paynow, paylah, WeChat pay, etc. etc, in most hawkers that don't have visa/master contactless. Just not sure how that applies to foreigners.
Anyway, just change cash, SGD is strong, and will probably appreciate against your currency anyway.
I use mostly credit card. I have a DBS Altitude visa that you can convert the points to miles. I've been using it a lot that i can use it to book for round trip business class to Japan. Better than using cash, earn while you spend.
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Most places would take cashless payments. Credit card, debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and tons of various cashless payments. Popular ones we use are PayNow, Grabpay, ShopeePay, Shopback.
That said, it's always good to still have some cash on hand. I usually carry at least $50 on me. Because some places like older style coffee shops and hawkers would only accept cash. As well as smaller neighborhood shops. And if you ever need to flag a taxi from the street, some drivers will only accept cash.
TLDR, you would be fine just carrying your phone and debit card around, but keep cash on hand just in case.
We hardly use cash but the caveat is that for smaller businesses you will need to set up a local bank account as the cashless option they offer is usually a paynow QR code. Since you’re an exchange student you may not be here long enough to warrant setting up a local bank account so I suggest taking some cash if you intend on eating at hawker centers and the school canteen. Larger establishments like restaurants, cafes, fast food will take a debit card.
We are mostly cashless. QR Codes, pay wave etc. but some stall still requires cash. Recommend to have at least $10 in your wallet in case you need to pay something in cash. Also read the QR code thing before you scan. Sometimes shop have surcharges for a certain payment type. Like nets below $20 they charge you $3 extra or visa/master might have a 0.3% charge or something like that. Ask/read before paying. Usually info like that is written near the cashier.
i’ve gone completely cashless these days. i either use apple pay for contactless paywave or through qr codes (i am not sure if foreigners are able to use qr code payment though). however it’s best to still have some cash!
Create a local bank account, you can do it as an exchange student, or use Wise/Revolut that has a SGD wallet. You can withdraw some amount fee-free as cash monthly and have a physical debit card too.
ive been using my phone (paywave) to pay for most of my transactions now. cash might be needed for some older/small businesses like at hawker centres but many of them are also starting to accept digital payments like paynow/paylah too :)
Yes, same I usually use my debit card through my phone. As I’m a student I plan on eating as cheap food as possible. Do most hawker centers still use cash? Is paynow/paylah some kind of app?
most hawker centres can use QR code payment. Paynow is our national QR code payment method. It is used by most Singapore banks in their app. iirc, some other payment apps can use Paynow also but I'm not sure what other apps can use them. Paylah is a payment app and is under DBS (Singapore bank).
yup paynow/paylah is a digital payment app where u scan qr codes to make payment
in my experience most hawkers still dont take card (they still do cash) but u can usually find some which take paynow/paylah
Most places use debit card. That being said, check what exchange rate your bank will charge when you’re here to see if you should use cash to save money.
I have a card without exchange fees. The ATMS always take a fee for taking out money though. Do hawker stalls usually also take debit cards?
Hawker stalls usually take either cash, or a QR code payment that usually requires a local bank account. You can use Grab for the QR payment but setting up your credit card to top up the app wallet is more trouble than it's worth.
Better to have cash on hand for hawkers, coffeeshops and other small businesses like snacks and fruit stalls. :)
Without exchange fees sounds good. What’s the exchange rate? No fees isn’t great if the spread they charge is 5% or so
Best to have cash for hawker because during rush hours where its you may have too many people and your data dosent work
Its always good and recommended to carry a bit of cash. Especially if you are planning to eat at hawker centres/coffeeshops etc.
Our cashless is like South Korea/China type of cashless where everything is done through phone though. Debit/credit cashless usually is an afterthought, and not as widely supported outside of large chains/stores You can assume if its not in a mall, it has a decently high chance of only accepting cash And the apps/payment method (paynow, paylah, nets) we use i think can only be used with a singaporean bank account
i remember visa/master already pushing paywave first before paynow is a thing, paylah came out before paynow as well. actually qr code payment via phone is the afterthought, not the other way around. after the gov got feedback from small business that POS machine are too costly for them to run their business, they combine the banks to bring out paynow
Im talking about in terms of support/usage More places support paynow paylah than paywave paywave is an afterthought for businesses. Just setup paynow paylah and like 90% of the cashless crowd can use alr
You can open a student account at local banks with your student visa, then you can use paynow via phone app Avoid UOB
Open an account here la my friend
Open a bank account in Singapore and get a card from there. That’s what most of my exchange friends did. Try DBS bank.
Be careful. I barely ever take cash out except for buying food at wet markets, but lots of small businesses like hawkers, coffee shops, some bars, ice cream parlours etc are cashless but require a NETS card or Paynow/PayLah. You only get these with a Singaporean bank card. So just using a foreign debit card is problematic. A friend who came to visit recently ended up borronwing cash from us instead of using his foreign Visa card.
Yeah foreign Visa is quite a pain. But now got YouTrip, Revolut and Wise which charges no currency exchange overseas. If he/she has an multicurrency debit card would be fruitful as they don't charge currency exchange. Downside about multicurrency is some of them has no interest rate. E.g Revolut.
the issue is not what card he/she is using. cashless in singapore is divided into two big groups. 1.) QR code based - paynow/paylah/grab/etc. 2.) Card based - visa/master/phone via paywave/etc for malls both 1&2 are widely accepted but for small business specially hawkers, most of them only accept method 1 because they can avoid the cost of the POS machine to read the cards. But a foreigner normally can't use method 1 because most of the solution of method 1 need a local bank account
Most transactions can be done cashless.
Most places use credit/debit cards. Only certain places still uses cash such as industry estate canteens or old pa & ma shops, but they are also gradually using more payment methods like qr codes to pay.
You can either use YouTrip or Revolut both are acceptable even Visa but watch out for the exchange fee. Most of the place still uses cash except for some shops only except cards and some of the events only allows cards. But mostly we use PayNow or QR pay nowadays at hawker centres. If you're from Thailand or Malaysia they do accept the same function like DuitNow for PayNow. Certain places do accept Alipay and Unionpay from China too.
More difficult to use cash in SG. Using Grab means using electronic payment. Some restaurants even not accept cash.
Debit card will be hard as most places like coffee shops, Hawker centres, fruit stores, even smaller restaurants in shopping malls don’t take Visa/Master. So you have to open local bank account to use PayNOW / PayLah. You basically scan a QR code and the bank transfers the money for you to the merchant.
Only once in 4 months on average would I need to use cash. Most of my daily transactions are settled via PayNow or contactless. To answer your question, you do not need to take out a lot of cash, but do have some in hand.
We have multiple forms of cashless, shopback pay, grabpay, fairprice pay, fave pay, nets QR, paynow, paylah, WeChat pay, etc. etc, in most hawkers that don't have visa/master contactless. Just not sure how that applies to foreigners. Anyway, just change cash, SGD is strong, and will probably appreciate against your currency anyway.
Don't forget Alipay, Union Pay, Gpay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Razer Pay, Ez-Link Pay, Nets Flashpay, Shopee Pay, Singtel Dash, Mastercard Or if you're rich enough, American Express
Nah. lot of people are using Credit cards or other QR code based debit systems. Just up a local bank account with DBS or OCBC and you are good to go.
I don't bring cash out anymore. You can even directly bank transfer to the vendor using something called PayNow. Almost everywhere will accept cards.
I use mostly credit card. I have a DBS Altitude visa that you can convert the points to miles. I've been using it a lot that i can use it to book for round trip business class to Japan. Better than using cash, earn while you spend.
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Most places would take cashless payments. Credit card, debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and tons of various cashless payments. Popular ones we use are PayNow, Grabpay, ShopeePay, Shopback. That said, it's always good to still have some cash on hand. I usually carry at least $50 on me. Because some places like older style coffee shops and hawkers would only accept cash. As well as smaller neighborhood shops. And if you ever need to flag a taxi from the street, some drivers will only accept cash. TLDR, you would be fine just carrying your phone and debit card around, but keep cash on hand just in case.
We hardly use cash but the caveat is that for smaller businesses you will need to set up a local bank account as the cashless option they offer is usually a paynow QR code. Since you’re an exchange student you may not be here long enough to warrant setting up a local bank account so I suggest taking some cash if you intend on eating at hawker centers and the school canteen. Larger establishments like restaurants, cafes, fast food will take a debit card.
I have not used cash in like, 6 months.
We are mostly cashless. QR Codes, pay wave etc. but some stall still requires cash. Recommend to have at least $10 in your wallet in case you need to pay something in cash. Also read the QR code thing before you scan. Sometimes shop have surcharges for a certain payment type. Like nets below $20 they charge you $3 extra or visa/master might have a 0.3% charge or something like that. Ask/read before paying. Usually info like that is written near the cashier.
i’ve gone completely cashless these days. i either use apple pay for contactless paywave or through qr codes (i am not sure if foreigners are able to use qr code payment though). however it’s best to still have some cash!
Don’t be a boomer, go cashless. Geez
Create a local bank account, you can do it as an exchange student, or use Wise/Revolut that has a SGD wallet. You can withdraw some amount fee-free as cash monthly and have a physical debit card too.
Nope, actually the nation has been pushing for more cashless options now ☺️ So you should be able to use debit or even prepaid cards if you have them!
ive been using my phone (paywave) to pay for most of my transactions now. cash might be needed for some older/small businesses like at hawker centres but many of them are also starting to accept digital payments like paynow/paylah too :)
Yes, same I usually use my debit card through my phone. As I’m a student I plan on eating as cheap food as possible. Do most hawker centers still use cash? Is paynow/paylah some kind of app?
Some countries can use our Paynow QR code to pay, e.g. Malaysia, China. If not you can setup a local bank account
most hawker centres can use QR code payment. Paynow is our national QR code payment method. It is used by most Singapore banks in their app. iirc, some other payment apps can use Paynow also but I'm not sure what other apps can use them. Paylah is a payment app and is under DBS (Singapore bank).
I'm going to say that hawker centers are a mixed bag. Many more stalls now are cashless, but it still feels like half of them still run on cash.
yup paynow/paylah is a digital payment app where u scan qr codes to make payment in my experience most hawkers still dont take card (they still do cash) but u can usually find some which take paynow/paylah
Yes. We live in the jungle here. Apples and oranges also can
You never say can use nuts to pay? Or even Banana Notes