A payment network that works for everyone

If you see customers walking out of a Cheers store in Tampines without paying for their items, don’t assume they’re shoplifting.

The unmanned, cashless store is part of Visa’s collaboration with NTUC FairPrice subsidiary Cheers. The store uses advanced zero checkout technology, which recognises the items customers have picked up and automatically processes payment on the store’s mobile app as they walk out.

The fintech-enabled store – the first of its kind in Southeast Asia – is expected to save up to 240 man-hours a week.

Said Mr Chua Boon Keat, head of channels at Hypermarket, Finest and Cheers: "This unmanned concept is in line with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, which aims to transform and digitise the economy to keep Singapore competitive by utilising technology to make lives better. This new concept store is part of our ongoing efforts to drive productivity and break new ground in rethinking retail for the convenience store industry"

POWERING COMMERCE WITH INNOVATIVE PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY

Visa’s recent Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2022 found that 71 per cent of Singapore consumers planned to use cashless payments more often, while 61 per cent preferred to patronise shops that accept cashless payments.

According to Mr Kunal Chatterjee, the country manager for Singapore and Brunei at Visa, more companies are integrating payments into their business models to keep up with customers’ shifting expectations and needs, such as wanting to be able to shop anywhere, anytime, via digital payment technology.

“There remains a massive opportunity to empower businesses with more efficient and frictionless ways to pay and be paid,” he said. “With low barriers to entry, accepting digital payment methods such as contactless payments or enabling e-commerce has made it possible for businesses to get paid more quickly and more securely, while providing consumers with a more seamless shopping experience.”

PUTTING SMALL BUSINESSES ON THE FAST TRACK

Digital business-to-business (B2B) payments – such as through Visa B2B connect – offer companies more visibility, flexibility and control over their spending, allowing them to further digitalise processes such as scheduling recurring payments, settling payment reminders and monitoring payment status.

With small enterprises making up 90 per cent of all the businesses in Asia Pacific and providing over 60 per cent of jobs, Visa is keen to ensure that they are not left behind as the world digitalises.

As part of its commitment to empowering the digital growth of small-and-medium businesses in Asia Pacific, Visa recently launched the Acceptance Fast Track Programme. The programme enables companies to accept digital payments in a matter of minutes with the aid of new Visa solutions, onboarding processes and programme participants such as acquirers and payment facilitators.

Among these partners is financial services technology platform provider OxPay SG. Mr Henry Tan, OxPay’s CEO, said that being part of Visa’s ecosystem enables OxPay to reach out to more businesses with a comprehensive suite of value-added solutions.

“Visa solutions such as Rapid Seller Onboarding helps us to reduce the merchant onboarding time required for a tedious due-diligence process, and provides accuracy,” he said. “Furthermore, being a Visa partner lends credibility and access to a network of other like-minded businesses.”

Other benefits of the Acceptance Fast Track Programme include access to new acceptance solutions from Visa, such as the Tap to Phone terminals that enable merchants’ smartphones to be used as payment acceptance devices. The programme also provides support in the form of special rebates for implementing new payment solutions and tools to track merchant onboarding, coupled with access to a payments hub that features curated resources and dedicated Visa support.

UNLOCKING ACCESS TO THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically accelerated the digitisation of commerce. For small businesses, digital payment options are no longer just a response to changing consumer demands, but a clear path to future growth, said Mr Chatterjee.

“In 2022, 94 per cent of Singapore small business owners plan to accept some form of digital payment,” he said. “To help small businesses scale and grow, Visa is driving innovation and using our network of networks to create opportunities to enable digital payments for these businesses, connecting them to consumers, governments and other businesses and unlocking access to the digital economy for everyone.”

Learn more about Visa's innovative, secure and convenient digital payments.