DBS PayLah! users can use app to get 10-cent refund when beverage container return scheme begins in April
To get their refunds, app users can generate their personal QR code and scan it at the reverse vending machines.
Users will be able to receive a 10-cent refund using DBS' Paylah! app. (Photo: DBS)
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SINGAPORE: Members of the public returning eligible beverage containers at reverse vending machines across Singapore can receive their S$0.10 (US$0.08) refunds via their DBS PayLah! wallets when the beverage container return scheme starts from Apr 1.
In a statement on Monday (Mar 2), DBS said that to get the refund, app users can generate their personal QR code and scan it at the machine.
The refund will then be credited into their PayLah! wallet, with confirmation by way of a push notification. It will also be reflected in the app's transaction history.
Under the beverage container return scheme, consumers will pay a S$0.10 refundable deposit when purchasing pre-packaged beverages in plastic bottles or metal cans between 150ml and 3L.
They can reclaim this deposit by returning the empty containers at any of the designated beverage container return points.
About 1,000 return points will be deployed across major supermarkets and high-footfall areas.
DBS PayLah! is the second digital option for refunds via the scheme to be announced. EZ-Link cards, including concession cards for seniors and students, can also be used.
DBS PayLah! is open to all users in Singapore, and eligible users can sign up for the app without a DBS/POSB bank account, DBS said.
PayLah! users can transfer funds from their mobile wallets to their non-DBS/POSB bank accounts.
Head of payments and unsecured lending at DBS' consumer banking group, Chan Sow Han, noted that PayLah! has more than three million users.
"We are pleased to provide consumers with a familiar digital option, demonstrating how supporting sustainability can be as easy and seamless as paying for hawker meals."
Ms Stephanie Yip, CEO of Beverage Container Return Scheme Limited, the consortium appointed to design and operate the scheme, said: "By embedding deposit refunds into one of Singapore’s most widely used digital wallets, we are making recycling part of everyday life – simple, immediate and intuitive."
