Lukewarm interest in new cashless payment systems at hawker centres
A drink stall offering the Liquid Pay system at Bukit Timah Food Centre on Dec 11, 2016. Photo: Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY
SINGAPORE — The newest cashless payment provider to seek inroads into hawker centres has got off to a bumpy start, with hawkers who have completed a three-month trial saying that only a handful of customers have paid using the QR-code method.
Hawkers at Bukit Timah and Tiong Bahru food centres, where a trial of mobile app Liquid Pay has concluded, said few customers choose to use the app because it is a hassle to pre-load the e-wallet. The QR codes displayed on wall decals are also not prominent, they told TODAY. At Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre, for instance, hawkers said they saw between one and 10 transactions completed via Liquid Pay over the last three months.
Nets FlashPay, the first venture to let customers make cashless payments at hawker centres here, has also experienced lacklustre response and “inertia” in adopting a new system. Diners can now go cashless at 14 hawker centres via Nets FlashPay. Merchants who use Nets FlashPay rent payment terminals for S$28 a month.
“At hawker centres, there’s inertia in changing a system that’s traditionally cash-based that hawkers and consumers are used to. Nets is still at an early stage of implementation and it’ll take a few years to change merchant and consumer behaviours,” said a Nets spokesperson.
However, at slightly more upmarket establishments such as Spinelli’s, however, the picture is rosier, with the response positive enough for the cafe chain to decide to port over its rewards system to Liquid Pay’s system by the end of this year. To pay with Liquid Pay, consumers add their debit or credit cards to the downloaded app, scan the QR code at the outlet they have patronised, then enter the amount of their bill.
The system by local firm Liquid Group, which in addition to the trials at the two hawker centres, has also been rolled out at F&B outlets in one-north, and all Spinelli Coffee Company joints.
Despite the lukewarm start, the company plans to introduce the app at 30 hawker centres and other F&B chains here by the end of the year. Within the next year, it has a target of launching 25,000 acceptance points, including retail outlets. Liquid Group declined to say how many acceptance points there are now or specify the establishments it will be working with.
Of the decision to use a QR code instead of a contactless payment terminal, Liquid Group chief executive officer Jeremy Tan said: “QR codes are easier to use than terminals, which need to be charged, and require a phone line. It’s just more inconvenient for hawkers. Terminals are also not cheap. Hawkers and merchants are very busy. So we need to keep it simple for them.”
Ms Ice Lim-Angkhana, who runs a stall selling Thai food at the Bukit Timah centre, said she introduced the app to customers who did not carry enough cash: “Even then, they often find it troublesome to download the app and load money into their accounts.”
Agreeing, Mr Tang, who sells fish porridge at Yong Fatt Chang, said he would let customers who are out of cash make their payments another day.
Mr Wayne Tan, who owns Living Wholesome Vegetarian Food, feels it takes “extra effort” for merchants to check if payments have indeed been made or if they tally with the transactions. “I don’t have much time to scrutinise the mobile receipts or make sure people truly complete the scans, because I’m a one-man operator,” said the 29-year-old.
Over at the Spinelli’s outlets at Galaxis (one-north) and the National University of Singapore, patrons are more receptive to the platform, outlet supervisor Santhis told TODAY.
By the end of this year, the chain will replace the physical version of its prepaid cards with mobile e-wallets powered by Liquid Pay, said Santhis. Members’ privileges will only be applicable after topping up their e-wallets, which they will present via Liquid Pay during payment.
Ms Amy who runs Bread Yard, another eatery in Galaxis, said some customers find the app relatively inconvenient — compared to other platforms like Nets FlashPay — due to additional steps needed to top up the account when it runs out of money.
“I think Liquid Pay needs to work on their marketing, which they probably are, but it’s still going to take a while. They could also make it easier for customers to use the app,” she said.
