This was an article circulated in my department where all the business owner in Singapore commented on trying to make Singapore a cashless country 馃拃馃拃馃拃 very soon Singaporean will become debt slaves and if you do something the power that be don't like, you can be switch off in a second.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: How can Singaporeans be encouraged to use "less cash, less cheques" in everyday life? What implications are there for businesses (including banks, card issuers)?
Cheng Heng Chew
Singapore Country Manager
American Express
ANYONE who has gone on a diet understands how difficult it can be to change habits. Singaporeans have relied on cash and cheques for a long time - and ATMs and cheque deposit boxes are still readily available. So for many, there is no impetus to change the way they pay.
For Singaporeans to switch from cash, they need to be assured that they can transact anywhere with a single device or card. That means being able to do everyday tasks such as take public transport, eat at hawker centers and pay bills without resorting to cash. Credit cards, contactless and mobile payments are helping to speed up that process.
Usability also plays an important role in changing habits, but so does safety. Cashless payments are more secure for consumers and for businesses, and companies such as American Express employ sophisticated systems and safeguards to prevent fraud.
American Express welcomes the move to cashless payments, and we want to help make them fast, secure and reliable.
Yeoh Oon Jin
Executive Chairman
PwC Singapore
TO encourage Singaporeans to use mobile money, transfers must be safe and transparent. Mobile money also requires comprehensive processes and a robust financial ecosystem, which the government needs to coordinate among banks, retailers and consumers. The ability to get retailers and sellers to accept mobile money, especially in everyday services such as transportation (using the phone rather than EZ Link cards) and even for street food (such as in China) will help promote its use. Perceptions about security breaches, fears about identity and electronic funds theft are concerns which also need to be tackled so that Singaporeans feel safe to use mobile money.
Dileep Nair
Independent Director
Keppel DC Reit Management Pte Ltd
ANY serious campaign to go cashless must use a mix of carrots and sticks. For the public, an obvious incentive is to offer discounts, perhaps through a one-year waiver of GST on cashless transactions below a certain sum. As a "stick" to discourage the use of cheques, the government could reintroduce the stamp duty that once used to be levied on each cheque issued. While banks may lose the revenue stream from the "float" when cheques are used, they should still save on cheque clearing costs.
The already widely-used CEPAS card for bus and train rides should also be extended for more small-value retail payments, especially in food centres and wet markets. What's needed is for stallholders to have contactless POS terminals. Here again, the government could step in with grants for such terminals.
In the words of a popular campaign, cash may be king but cashless is priceless!
Dan McConaghy
President
FICO Asia-Pacific
REDUCING the risk of fraud and cyberthreats is one essential ingredient necessary to encourage a move to cashless transactions in Singapore. Consumers and businesses need to be assured that they can trust cashless systems and that their personal information cannot be stolen. Therefore there is an impetus for banks and digital payment services to ensure that fraud red flags are raised to users in real time.
Not only that, but financial institutions must be able to reach customers via their preferred communication channels to check if a suspicious transaction is indeed fraud. Once the greater population develops trust in today's digital ecosystem, we can expect more people to go cashless.
Arkadiusz Czopor
Managing Director, Asia South
T-Systems Singapore Pte Ltd
I HAVE spent eight years in China, where mobile payments have taken the country by storm, thanks to Alibaba and WeChat. Thus, my colleagues and I have experienced and enjoyed being truly cashless. Through payment platform clients and accounts, we can pay for petrol, groceries or even split a meal payment with friends without hassle.
China's cashless success is due to two factors: native "de-facto" platforms (for example WeChat) that are pervasive and allow for integration with other applications, and the Chinese people's mindset of valuing the greater benefit of embracing digital over privacy or security issues.
Likewise, to achieve success, Singapore needs to build its cashless strategy on three pillars: a common unified platform that aggregates content and applications; consumer education; and security regulations and certifications to safeguard transactions.
Emil Akander
Trade Commissioner of Sweden to Singapore
WHILE Singapore has started its journey towards a cashless society, it needs to continue investing in critical infrastructure for an ecosystem which is enabled by the financial regulator and consists of electronic banking, payments, savings and loans. Meanwhile, it is important to provide incentives for all businesses and merchants to reduce cash transactions.
In Sweden for instance, key factors include the collaboration among all players within the ecosystem, technological advancements and trust from consumers; these all contributed to the foundation of its cashless society.
We look forward to seeing more interoperable, user-friendly and fit-for-purpose innovations disrupting the payment service industry in Singapore.
Alex Campbell
Managing Director, Asia
Xero
CASH and cheques are a major cost and inefficiency drag to every national economy. This makes "going cashless" ultimately a practical necessity for countries to remain efficient and globally competitive.
By adopting technologies such as online invoicing and online payments, businesses can save themselves the significant time, cost and hassle of handling physical cheques and cash. If implemented across a whole economy, this would add up to considerable savings of time and resources.
Small businesses in particular play a key role in Singapore's economy. Supporting their move from cash to electronic payments has a flow-on effect to help move the rest of the economy away from cash and cheques.
Tripti Lochan
Chief Executive Officer
VML South-east Asia and India
IT is ultimately a marketing problem. The Big Data creep dominates headlines; too much ink is spilt on issues such as user privacy. It's no wonder Singaporeans don't feel safe - the last thing people want is to generate yet more data over which they feel they have no control, especially when it's regarding something as sensitive as their finances.
To change this mindset, businesses must alter the narrative - the message that going cashless is secure and convenient needs to come through the clamour of negative publicity surrounding security issues. Singaporeans need to believe that going cashless is not just safe, but preferable.
Marc Mathenz
Managing Director, Asia-Pacific
Fiserv
OUR fast-paced lifestyle calls for everything "right here, right now". It is no surprise that this demand extends to consumer expectations in banking where speed, ease and convenience are desired. PayNow could not have come at a better time; riding on the FAST (Fast and Secure Transfer) infrastructure, the instant movement of money using mobile phone numbers as identifiers is on point to drive Singapore closer to its vision of a cashless economy. Companies, especially SMEs, will benefit from increased visibility of cashflow and a more efficient management of the business. The new system will open doors for industry-led innovations around apps for social messaging, cross-border settlements and payment services.
Steve Aliferis
President, Asia-Pacific
Verifone
FINANCIAL institutions today can play a critical role in reducing consumer dependence on cash. Jointly with their business partners, they are introducing solutions that make it easier for consumers to send and receive cashless payments - building behaviours that can also translate into digital payment adoption in physical stores. For any economy to significantly grow cashless transactions, payment industry players and financial services institutions must continue to work together - and Verifone is committed to building a strong electronic payments ecosystem with simple, secure and innovative ways for merchants to accept cashless payments in stores.
Ong Pang Thye
Managing Partner
KPMG in Singapore
THE payments landscape in Singapore is characterised by entrenched habits, behaviours and the attitudes of consumers and businesses. For cashless payments to become a way of life in Singapore, it has to be convenient, simple to use, secure and trusted by consumers. It has to feature an interoperable payment ecosystem, with minimal cost to merchants.
Businesses and even the government can also play a part in encouraging adoption, by accepting only electronic payments instead of cheques or cash payments. KPMG estimates that there is up to S$150 million in potential savings in the economy, from the use of cashless payments in places such as hawker centres, and in taxis.
The recent introduction of PayNow is timely. Existing options such as Giro involve cumbersome processes, and the more recently introduced FAST system requires sharing sensitive bank account details. PayNow's success will hinge on offering a good user experience and security while preserving privacy.
John Bittleston
Founder Mentor & Chairman
Terrific Mentors International
IT is incredible that in the advanced society of Singapore, cash and cheques are still the most frequent method of exchange for some 90 per cent of the population whereas in Britain, described by some as "backward", few would consider making a significant payment other than by Internet bank transfer. Partly this is because Singapore local bank codes have made Internet transfers unnecessarily complicated. Banks have not educated their customers to more up-to-date and reliable methods which are presumably now available. "Presumably" because even I am not certain. We need some simple, jargon-free education, please.
Anurag Mathur
Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management
HSBC Bank (Singapore)
A RECENT HSBC research report revealed that while tech-literate, Singaporeans are particularly concerned with cybersecurity and as a result are cautious in adopting new technology. What this indicates is that increased knowledge and understanding of new technologies' security and predictability is essential to building trust and accelerating adoption.
For consumers, convenience, security and speed of transactions are important when it comes to the adoption of new payment technology. Solutions such as PayNow which are secure and almost instant will make e-payments easier and reduce the need to carry cash or write cheques.
For small businesses to introduce new payment options, it must be proven to save time and money. E-payments can make it faster for businesses to get paid and help them keep an electronic audit trail with less paperwork. However, even the "mom and pop" businesses and stall owners must be on-board for Singapore to become a cashless society, which will require time and education.
Nicki Ramsay
CEO and Founder
CardUp
SINGAPORE is among the seven most digitally savvy countries in the world, meaning the demand for digital payments is there. However, critical to the adoption of new payment solutions will be how seamlessly they integrate into consumer lifestyles to offer convenience, security and benefits. To support this, fast and competitively priced solutions are also needed so that businesses can accept new forms of payments in a frictionless way, giving consumers more payment choices. Change will be a collaborative process across regulators (who can incentivise and enforce changes), financial institutions (who can roll out new solutions) and tech players (who can solve pain points fast).
Deborah Heng
Country Manager
Mastercard Singapore
TO encourage more Singaporeans to adopt digital payments, a robust payment infrastructure and interoperable payment systems are key. The accessibility and convenience of using the same payment tool across all categories of spend - from transit, F&B and retail to government and other service providers - can greatly incentivise consumers. Familiarity ultimately leads to further trust in a payments system that delivers the convenience and seamlessness that residents of a Smart City value.
In addition, a concerted effort by the authorities as well as banks and digital payments companies to educate consumers and smaller businesses of the benefits and safety of digital payments will increase consumers' confidence in and readiness to adopt new ways to pay. With a wider adoption of digital payments, business can effectively leverage data to boost operational efficiencies.
Philip Yuen
Chief Executive Officer
Deloitte South-east Asia & Singapore
MOVING towards a cashless society is an important step for Singapore's Smart Nation vision where people are empowered by technology to enhance their daily living. This move empowers people to make payment transactions - a common activity - more efficient.
Singaporeans are still getting accustomed to the rapid changes technology brings to their lives. To motivate change in behaviour to adopt these new technologies, there needs to be an increased level of public education. The facilities and processes should also be affordable, accessible, usable and secure.
Businesses, including banks and card issuers, can help support greater adoption by developing an inclusive infrastructure and process that is simple and user-friendly for everyone, including those in the older age groups. Cybersecurity measures also need to be in place to protect the individual, and Singapore, against cybercrimes.
Overall, the government has done well in building the national infrastructure to support this move, and with the right policies and regulations in place to allow for such innovations, we will see Singapore develop into a future-ready smart nation.
Rohit Dadwal
Managing Director, APAC
Mobile Marketing Association
THE move to a cashless economy is making headway in Singapore, facilitated by mobile payment. Mobile embeds the entire payment process within the purchase decision, so transactions themselves are often an afterthought, such as in the case of popular ride-hailing apps.
With security concerns weighing on the minds of Singaporeans, investing in mobile security technologies, and communicating them to consumers, is crucial in encouraging the adoption of contactless payment. Businesses also ought to relook and optimise their mobile strategy to ensure a seamless payment experience for consumers. The Uptake of digital currency will then be natural and intuitive, and mobile payment will soon usher in a whole new world of marketing possibilities.
Rahul Shinghal
General Manager, South-east Asia
PayPal
EFFORTS to encourage the use of digital payments should be led in partnership by the industry and the government. Industry players need to offer products centred on customers' needs and drive awareness of the products' seamlessness and ease of use. Regulators and governments will need to ensure that regulatory safeguards are in place to protect consumers and the integrity of the financial system, without stifling innovation.
Singapore is progressing well on this front, with a new draft Cybersecurity Bill that seeks to boost our cybersecurity readiness. Potential subsidies and cash disincentives could also be used to drive the initial adoption of digital payments in our everyday lives. With a move towards a "less cash" society, businesses - especially small merchants and SMEs that do not have the economies of scale of MNCs - can benefit from greater cost savings that will enable them to grow.
Dane Anderson
Vice-President, Research Director and Region Manager
Forrester
WHILE many of the prominent players, such as Alipay, Android Pay, Apple Pay and PayPal, are in fact digital wallets that integrate payments with a range of other features, the true potential of these digital wallets lies beyond contactless payments.
Forrester defines a digital wallet as a service that lets customers manage digitised valuables such as offers, coupons, loyalty rewards, tickets, boarding passes, gift cards, IDs, electronic receipts, or product information from multiple brands and enables payment transactions.
Other than Alipay, PayPal and WeChat, digital wallets haven't made much headway, but interest is growing. If we look at contact payments in Singapore alone, the market is fragmented and creating new payment systems and encouraging customer/merchant adoption simultaneously continues to be extremely challenging.
While there are substantial barriers to adoption today, digital wallets will become more convenient for customers as the benefits catch up with and begin to surpass the barriers. We anticipate further fragmentation in the market and multiple wallet solutions before market consolidation, helped by network effects that will lead merchants to accept wallets that they see are gaining adoption with customers.
Jeremy Tan
Director
Holborn Law
THE tipping point towards a cashless society in Singapore will occur when consumers can transact seamlessly across multiple points through a single solution. This is facilitated by a dominant payments ecosystem or a common standard, both being polar ends of the same spectrum.
The current payments environment in Singapore is fragmented as evident in the differing activity-specific payment methods, such as EZ-link and NETS. The launch of PayNow moves Singapore closer to this tipping point as the seven participating banks make up about 90 per cent of Singapore's total retail transaction volume.
Facilitative regulations are crucial and the MAS's recent proposal to allow banks to take ownership of non-financial businesses such as e-commerce platforms will potentially create an environment conducive for the growth of a payments ecosystem.
Edward Higase
Managing Director, Asia-Pacific
Digital Realty
TO support the move to a cashless society, a robust foundation of strong digital infrastructure, and efficient connectivity must be laid. The move to have a common platform across all the major banks in Singapore will spur greater use as it is more convenient for the public. It is now more important than ever for businesses to invest in the proper support and connectivity needed to further drive the rate of adoption.
Security, especially, is key, with consumers likely to be inhibited from moving fully cashless due to concerns about the safety of their payments.
Sheena Chin
Country Director, Singapore
VERITAS
TO wean consumers off cash, e-payments need to be seamless and simple. The complexity of existing payment systems with different cards or apps and the ease of using cash give people less incentive to go cashless. Data security and services availability are of perennial concern. Then there are instances when the PC hangs right at the point of making an online payment. While some might be annoyed with the hassle of repeating the transaction, I am actually paranoid about being phished. To drive behavioural changes, robust measures must be in place to ensure personally identifiable information is well protected. The availability of an interoperable infrastructure (if this becomes a reality) or common platforms will certainly help businesses lower the costs of e-payment adoption and increase productivity. Public education and digital enablement will also be key as we move towards a cashless future.
Lukas Raska
Chief Operating Officer
ESET Asia-Pacific
TO encourage Singaporeans to go cashless and cheque-less, there needs to be a concerted effort for businesses to work with payment vendors to ensure the safety and security of electronic payments. Establishing a good digital payment infrastructure allows customers to enjoy a seamless and secure experience with digital payments, and gives them the confidence to perform digital transactions in their everyday lives.
Businesses can consider security measures such as two-factor authentication, which can help provide an extra layer of protection and reduce the risk of data breaches caused by weak or leaked passwords.
Imad Abou-Haidar
Singapore Managing Director
Finastra
THE crux here is not so much about going completely cashless, but in reducing cash. The benefits of this for consumers are obvious. They include ease in transactions and not having to go to the cash point, which is safer and saves time and effort. However, it is a big step change for Singapore where carrying cash is habitual.
The many new technologies available will help with slowly changing the cash culture, but the tipping point will come when trust among users is gained. To get there, the financial sector needs to work more closely with fintechs to introduce more collaborative solutions that embrace the innovation and agility of fintechs but also the trust and branding of traditional banks.
Mark Micallef
Vice-President, Asia-Pacific & Japan
Cloudera
WHEN disruptive technology presents opportunities for consumers to change fundamental habits, there are always new challenges to overcome. The shift from physical to digital is a double-edged sword - every transaction now leaves behind a data trail that can either be used by service providers to improve customer satisfaction or exploited by hackers.
To encourage consumers to go digital and provide them with more meaningful experiences, banks have to continue sharpening their data strategies, working with modern platforms that not only help derive actionable insights, but can also be relied on to secure data, prevent fraud, and ensure compliance.
Sean Duca
Vice-President and Regional Chief Security Officer, Asia-Pacific
Palo Alto Networks
AS with all digital services, a fundamental building block in promoting the use of cashless payments among consumers is trust. This trust is best built and maintained with a mindset to prevent a cyberattack from being successful. Anything else is too little and too late.
To earn and maintain the confidence and trust of new and existing customers, the financial services industry must establish formal risk management plans, develop defence strategies and deploy security solutions that are actionable. Security needs to become an integral part of the company strategy at the highest possible level and actionable at every branch and corporate site, and supported by greater employee awareness.
Dolly Goh
Chief Executive Officer
Singapore National Co-operative Federation
WHEN it comes to financial services, relationship and trust are two very important factors. They are built over years and cannot be replaced by technology. Credit co-operatives have, over decades, developed loyal, long-term relationships with members who are also stakeholders of the co-op, by providing personal over-the-counter service.
As we move towards a "less cash, less cheques" society, it is no doubt easy to get IT-savvy millennials on board, but much harder, in reality, for our silver generation. We must not neglect the needs of our pioneer generation, who value that personal touch and assurance.
Bill Taylor-Mountford
Vice-President for Asia-Pacific and Japan
LogRhythm
LIKE all digital ventures, cashless payments are exposed to the threat of cybercrime. While banks may already have sound cybersecurity standards, retailers and merchants often do not, and could be the point of entry for cybercriminals.
For the adoption of digital payment to grow, consumers must first feel confident that their money is safe and protected. Stakeholders across the industry will need to ensure that proper cyberdefences are in place to not just prevent cyberattacks, but also detect intrusions swiftly so that remedial actions can be taken. Collaboration and sharing of threat information will also ensure that all parties are able to deal with newly discovered cyberthreats.
Benjamin Low
Vice-President, APAC
Milestone Systems
GIVEN Singapore's highly regulated financial market and advanced payment infrastructure, we are well positioned to become a truly cashless society. From Visa payWave and Apple Pay, to our very own EZ-Link and CashCards (and now PayNow), a variety of seamless payment options abound.
These payment methods, however, present challenges to the average consumer, as they require different verification processes which can be time-consuming and confusing.
Education is required on both fronts: to instil and inspire confidence in consumers and businesses today. The PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act), for instance, is the right step forward for consumers to know how their data is being used, stored and protected. Businesses, on the other hand, can work hand in hand to consolidate the various payment options to a singular mode of payment in the longer term, creating a truly cashless society.
Joel Ko Hyun Sik
Co-founder and CEO
Marvelstone Ventures
THE mixed response to cashless payment options at hawker centres this year shows there's still work to be done in encouraging Singaporeans to go digital. But it's important for driving up the productivity of Singapore's economy because cashless means efficient. The best way to encourage consumers is to keep pushing it in their faces so that it becomes familiar.
Engaging and educating merchants is also key. The implications of a truly cashless economy will be a more secure, efficient, and reliable payment experience for everyone, including banks and card issuers which are constantly looking for ways to protect their customers.
Vipin Kalra
Chief Executive Officer
BankBazaar International
COMPARED to other countries, cash and cheques remain widely available and easy to use in Singapore. In addition, many businesses still prefer cash, making it indispensable for Singaporeans. However, cash is more expensive for society as a result of higher handling and distribution costs, and a lack of traceability.
With a number of electronic payment alternatives already in place, the key to making Singapore a cashless society lies in changing the mindset of businesses and encouraging them to use non-cash payment systems. In turn, businesses can enjoy lower operational costs, avoid manual work and human error, and keep better track of spending.
Chew Ann Wee
Senior Regional Director, South-east Asia
CyberSource
AS with any new technology, educating Singaporeans on the benefits of cashless payments will be key in assisting with its adoption. Going cashless saves time and money, with the potential of saving the economy up to S$2 billion annually, according to the 2016 Singapore Payments Roadmap study by MAS and KPMG. Cashless payments are also more secure than paying in cash and allow for faster settlement times, the latter being crucial for SMEs, who face tighter cash flows.
Merchants looking to assuage consumers' concerns and cater to unique payment preferences, would need to consider how they are able to provide cross-channel support and uphold payment security. At CyberSource, we continue to enable merchants to make the payment experience more convenient, seamless and secure, giving impetus to a cashless economy.
Anthony Chiam
APAC Regional Head, Service Industry
Practice Leader for the Service Industry
J D Power
SINGAPOREANS are ready to go cashless. According to our Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for 2017, self-service options - such as online and mobile banking - have become the preferred way for customers to manage various transactions, compared with traditional channels.
However, with the rise of the digital wallet, banks need to strike a balance when developing their channel strategy. Fewer opportunities to engage with their customers face-to-face means traditional in-person interactions, such as providing complex financial advice or explaining financial products to customers, will become increasingly difficult. Ensuring that offline banking channels continue to stay relevant will be key to maintaining customer relationships.
Wong Heng Chew
Country President
Fujitsu Singapore
TECHNOLOGY is changing the relationship between individuals and their money, one click at a time. Improving the efficiency, security, and convenience of financial services has drawn a great deal of attention from young people as well as busy working-age people, who are accustomed to using smartphones and familiar with ICT.
Successful businesses in fintech understand consumer needs and accelerate real customer-focused innovation in financial services. A seamless digital banking ecosystem will allow users to easily experience any new and current financial service, anytime and anywhere, and also gives businesses the customer insights to innovate and offer even more customer-centric services and products. This generates a continuous cycle of value creation and uptake in new services, which will also help to strengthen relationships of trust between institutions and users.
Helen Ng
Chief Executive Officer
General Storage Company Pte Ltd
STUDIES have shown that notes and coins carry lots of bacteria, but you do not have to be a germaphobe to want to go cashless. Digitally savvy consumers here are poised to go cashless for the convenience; however, if merchants are not ready to adopt digital cash transfers, Singapore's transition to a cashless society will not be complete. Getting small businesses such as coffee-shop operators to go cashless remains an uphill task due to resistance from their elderly clients. Banks should start looking into tailoring digital wallets for seniors so they too can be part of the cashless movement.
Jessica Chuang
Regional Marketing Director, South-east Asia, India and Greater China
Hotels.com
SINGAPOREANS can be encouraged if they are assured that the transactions are secure and seamless. The travel industry has been a forerunner, with accommodation, flights and even insurance being booked online these days. The crux is to prioritise customer experience when introducing online payment systems, especially in cross-device environments. At Hotels.com, we are continually innovating and improving user experience so that the entire booking process remains convenient, secure and personal. Today, more than one in three Hotels.com transactions are booked on a mobile device globally, demonstrating how user-friendliness is a key factor for users to adopt a cashless lifestyle on-the-go.
Paul Henaghan
President, South Asia and Korea
Dell EMC
WE'VE yet to fully realise the potential of human-machine partnerships that will emerge within the next decade. Technology will be an extension of ourselves, where even our groceries will be ordered by a digital assistant. As with any transformative change, there will be resistance from the less tech-savvy to the wary, but certainly cash will not be the dominant mode of payment.
E-payments are making headway with incentives to make it cheaper and convenient - paying lower bus fares with ez-link or giving e-hongbaos without the need for crisp bank notes. Technology should be seen as a platform for businesses to create more enriching experiences for customers. Digital transformation won't happen overnight but the hard work will lead to a lasting impact on society.
Wenhui Yang
General Manager
UnionPay International South-east Asia
AS a developed economy, Singapore is not moving as fast as it ought to in the drive towards a cashless society. While the government, banks and payment networks have introduced a slew of initiatives to encourage wider adoption of e-payments, there's still work to be done to address two key issues.
Firstly, smaller businesses hesitant about e-payment adoption need help to implement cashless payments in an easy and cost-efficient manner.
Secondly, cash is easily available via the extensive ATM network and neighbouring merchants, giving consumers little incentive to go cashless. While these areas will continue to be addressed progressively, the key tenets enabling a cashless society - convenience, security and reliability - will remain critical to building trust in e-payments among consumers and businesses in Singapore.
Karl Hamann
Chief Executive Officer
QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd
FOR some, there is a lingering fear that cashless transactions could be susceptible to security vulnerabilities. While recent research suggests the majority of Singaporeans already prefer using electronic payments over cash, there will always be those who are concerned. That said, from my perspective, the key to increasing usage is emphasising the benefits, including the fact that such payments are quicker, easier and allow more effective tracking of spending.
Clearly, banks and businesses must also bear the responsibility of keeping consumers' and merchants' money and data safe. And they should have contingency plans (including liability and cybercover) in place to minimise and mitigate any risks related to moving money digitally.
Rohit Ambekar
Director of Business and Strategy
Global Indian International School
ELECTRONIC payment services such as digital wallets and peer-to-peer transfers offer improved transparency and eliminate the threat of loss or theft of cash. Combined with biometric identification, this makes it an almost perfectly secure system. However, the ubiquity of cash and easy access to ATMs give the public little reason to go cashless. The public and private sectors must work together to educate the population, so as to allay users' safety concerns and ensure that traditional businesses are not left behind.
GIIS considers itself an early adopter of e-payments and is exploring ways to implement such transactions for our student community, so that they have diverse payment options for school necessities such as uniforms and textbooks.
Ooi Huey Tyng
Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei
Visa
WE welcome the expansion of the digital payment ecosystem, with PayNow as a platform to increase adoption of mobile payments. At Visa, we are committed to growing the usage of electronic payments including in-app solutions, mobile wallets and contactless payments in Singapore. Based on VisaNet data, the number of transactions on digital channels is growing more than 120 per cent year on year and this growth is largely due to significant increase in device-initiated payments. Technology is changing how people pay and we need to ensure good mobile connectivity, ubiquitous and seamless consumer experience and inter-operability for more Singaporeans to use electronic payments in their daily lives.
Christophe Duchatellier
CEO, Asia-Pacific
The Adecco Group
IT is hard to get people to suddenly use less cash when they have been advised for generations that "cash is king". Solutions such as PayNow, contactless payments and mobile wallets are prerequisites for a "less cash" society but are not sufficient. They are the technological enablers and with these now in place, we need to shift some focus to solving the behavioural aspects of this problem.
Users need to be made aware of the speed, security and convenience of digital payments while businesses need to understand their potential for lowering operational and capital costs.
Applying insights from behavioural economics and design thinking in a connected environment involving key stakeholders such as businesses, financial institutions and regulators can help to bring about the change in user mindset and behaviour. Meanwhile, we will have to contend with a multitude of transaction methods and their associated costs and complexities.
Edwin Khew Teck Fook
President
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
SAFE and convenient technological solutions are fundamental to enabling new payment options such as PayNow. IES has been supporting cashless adoption by spurring continual innovations in digital solutions among engineers to displace cash. However, to realise nationwide cashless adoption, the focus should be less on technologies but more on people: how to make cashless transactions intuitive, natural and a way of life for the average Singaporean.
To accelerate the transition, a push-pull approach comprising penalties and incentives is necessary, especially for segments with long-entrenched cash-based transactions such as hawker centres, food courts and wet markets. For businesses, moving away from paper-based transactions will save significant costs on back-end administrative resources and provide more data to generate greater customer insights.
Hari V Krishnan
CEO
PropertyGuru Group
PROPERTYGURU fully supports Singapore's digital nation aspirations, and its continued focus on supporting digital marketplaces, eCommerce and electronic payments. For the past 10 years, PropertyGuru has been focused on building consumer trust by bringing in transparency in the real estate market. The onus lies in businesses to first gain the consumer's currency for better uptake of their cashless initiatives.
While typical transaction prices in the real estate space are rather high to go fully cashless, there is immense potential for growth in the use of electronic payments in the industry. The security aspect of cashless transactions is especially appealing to some. While it might be easier to get consumers to start with monthly rent payments or even mortgages, perhaps one day they will be comfortable with booking properties and settling buying contracts online via cashless transactions.
Kai Y Chan
President, Asia-Pacific
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
THERE'S little doubt that electronic payments can be far more efficient, convenient and cost-effective than cash transactions, benefiting consumers, merchants and banks alike. However, in Singapore it appears to be a chicken-and-egg situation where consumers feel the need to carry cash because there are still many places that don't accept e-payments, while merchants don't feel the need to offer e-payments and bear the transaction fees because most consumers carry cash.
Perhaps Singapore can approach this problem the way some other countries have. Encourage merchants to accept e-payments by offering incentives such as tax benefits, and possibly mandate the installation and use of e-payment terminals. At the same time, educate consumers on the ease and convenience of e-payments, while gradually phasing out the use of cash and cheques.
As a business travel company, we can certainly see how a greater acceptance of e-payments would benefit travellers visiting Singapore by saving them the hassle of having to change currencies and carry cash.
Yap Boh Tiong
Chairman
Mileage Communications
PAYNOW is a boon for peer-to-peer payments through mobile phones. The next logical step is for payment by individuals to organisations/companies and vice versa. When that happens, the use of cheques will decrease greatly. In addition, there will be less reliance on and handling of cash especially by hawkers and retailers. This will also reduce the dependency on ATMs.
The end benefit will be better utilisation of resources, increased productivity and efficiency. Everybody gains from going cashless. PayNow is not just another financial scheme by the banks.
It is part of a major initiative in the grand scheme of things to turn Singapore into a Smart Nation as spelt out by our Prime Minister in 2015.
Lee Fook Chiew
Chief Executive Officer
Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
GIVEN Singapore's small market, high adoption rates are necessary to make the investments in creating a cashless environment viable. For this to happen, cashless payment must offer a value proposition that consumers are looking for, and this may require further study.
Cashless payments may give rise to more efficient workflow and processes in businesses. This translates into cost savings for businesses in the longer run, including less reliance on manpower. Once consumers and businesses see the benefits, it will give rise to a self-perpetuating cycle of cashless payments.
Stanley Kee
Managing Director, South-east Asia
GfK
SINGAPOREANS are among the top online shoppers in South-east Asia. The adoption of mobile payment and e-wallet services is expected to rise here as Singaporeans get more comfortable in paying without the use of cash or cards. While strong support from the authorities, financial institutions and service providers can help in driving education and improving uptake in the near term, user experience is key in ensuring that such services are designed to be intuitive, engaging and easy to use.
Today's connected consumers easily access goods and services via their smartphones, and they expect no less when making payments. Businesses that are unable to keep up with these demands for an omni-channel user experience stand to lose customers. From search to post-purchase engagement, combining design and user research is key to delivering exceptional experiences. By incorporating user insights into all stages of the development process, businesses can seize market opportunities and trends to create differentiated experiences and services that stick and build customer loyalty in the long run.
Dan Marjanovic
Singapore Office Country Head
Simmons & Simmons
THE questions raised are inextricably linked to the development and evolution of fintech and cybersecurity. Speed and convenience are the more attractive and obvious benefits to consumers of moving to "less cash, less cheques" and there are broader economic benefits from related productivity increases. It would also be an intermediate step to what is a growing inevitability of Singapore ultimately becoming a fully electronic, cashless society. In that context, a discussion encouraging consumers to walk that path is likely to focus on convenience, savings and commercial benefits. But that discussion would not be complete if it did not also address valid safety concerns and the impact on consumer rights.
Examples of implications for safety for both consumers and businesses include privacy and data protection, robustness of controls regarding data sharing and allocation of liability and consequences for breach or losses. This is where the sanctity of Singapore's well regulated FI sector provides a high degree of comfort to the banking industry, when perhaps compared with some other jurisdictions. But cybercrime is becoming more prevalent and regulation alone may not be a sufficient shield. Creating and maintaining cybercrime-proof platforms will not be without challenge, or associated cost.
Also, for now at least, consumers have the freedom to choose how and when they wish to access and use their cash, cheques or electronic platforms to suit their personal circumstances. Individual needs will differ. And, having options can protect against systemic or institutional error, failure or collapse or cybercrimes. No electronic system is flawless.
Asking to have a better understanding as to how these concerns are to be addressed is not unreasonable. Otherwise, the more appropriate question might be why the use of "less cash, less cheques" should be encouraged.
Mark Billington
Regional Director
ICAEW South-east Asia
CASHLESS payment options have been emerging in recent years, and Asian countries such as China and South Korea have been quick in adopting cashless mobile and contactless payments. In reality, the pace of change in technology typically moves faster than change in human behaviour. Banks and card issuers can use rewards to encourage higher usage of cashless payments, and educate customers on the benefits of enhanced security for such transactions.
In addition, businesses can help to facilitate change by adopting the use of new technology throughout their organisations (for example, in the payment options for their customers, the company's marketing strategies and internal structures such as people management and accounting). Financial professionals will have to work closely with artificial intelligence experts and data scientists to create tailored intelligent algorithms and solutions. Players within the entire ecosystem will need to play a part in order to take advantage of the digital-driven economy.
Ronald Lee
Managing Director
PrimeStaff
THE launch of PayNow certainly provides the convenience of a common payment ecosystem in shifting Singapore towards becoming a cashless society.
While this is currently a peer-to-peer platform, the government and banking industry should perhaps explore how they can enhance the platform to extend the service to merchants and businesses.
The cost involved in adopting cashless payment systems is one of the main barriers for small businesses and retailers. Government grants and incentives to offset the cost of such technology would certainly help encourage merchants to go cashless.
For individuals, it's a matter of awareness and having confidence in the cybersecurity of the respective payment platforms. The participating banks and payments platform providers therefore need to ensure their cybersecurity is 100 per cent invulnerable to attacks, as well as invest in educating consumers and merchants on the convenience, efficiency and other benefits of the service, and even how to use their platform, especially for the older folk.
Jessie Xia
Managing Director - Singapore
ThoughtWorks
SINGAPORE has a strong digital infrastructure. The online payment and cashless systems here are among the most secure, regulated and managed. Yet, despite the ease of use and secure online environment, the adoption of cashless systems remains low. This can largely be attributed to two main factors - low awareness of the products available and the limited network of vendors that accept cashless payments. There is a strong need to promote greater knowledge of the solutions available for vendors and consumers alike. Creating an ecosystem that brings efficiency and value to users will propel widespread adoption and we expect to see this in the coming years.
For businesses, there is tremendous value in having better customer experiences, less risk, and ease in financial management through cashless transactions. But there are challenges, for small businesses and large enterprises alike. For instance, for neighbourhood retailers and taxi drivers, how quickly they will get the payments, along with any costs they would need to bear for the service, would matter. That said, we are still in the early days of adoption. As new payment services continue to be rolled out, coupled with changing mindsets, cashless systems will become widely used and integrated into daily life.
Lim Soon Hock
Managing Director
PLAN-B ICAG Pte Ltd
MOBILE money is big in Kenya and Somaliland, primarily because the majority of the population is under-served and under-banked. This is not the case in Singapore. Being well served by banks, there is little incentive to use less cash and less cheques. However, I expect this to change, when the Smart Nation takes shape and more fintech companies exploit blockchain technologies and crypto-currencies, to compete with traditional banks and card issuers.
Technologies have enabled the digitalisation of authentication. This in turn builds more trust in mobile money. The Internet of information is fast transforming itself into an Internet of value, when more transactions take place, perhaps even becoming an Internet of trust. Change happens at the speed of trust. Banks and card issuers must aggressively disrupt their current business or face being disrupted by fintech companies that are not encumbered by regulatory compliance requirements. The wave of mobile money is here to stay and cannot be turned back.
Uantchern Loh
Chief Executive Officer
Black Sun Plc
THERE'S a story of a Chinese general who crossed a river to take on an enemy that was many times bigger. After crossing the river, the general ordered his men to burn and sink all the ships, leaving behind just three days' worth of food and supplies. The soldiers had two choices facing them - fight or die. Retreat wasn't an option. The general's strategy paid off as he won the battle against a superior force.
We need to "burn our ships" in order to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of cash and cheques. By burning our ships, we will also encourage businesses to transform their business models by reducing their reliance on labour to collect/process cash and cheques.
Zaheer K Merchant
Regional Director (Singapore & Europe)
QI Group of Companies
THE classic idea of going cashless will still be a paradigm shift in Singapore. It is vital for broad collaborative action to be taken by the government, regulators, authorities, banks/financial institutions/fintech entities and market participants (that is, businesses and consumers). They will work to introduce new, or reform the existing, regulatory framework to integrate technological innovations in electronic platforms, infrastructure and telecommunication devices to achieve this outcome.
The primary challenge is that of limited governance in this connection, resulting in a need for increased focus on both banking and consumer protection, risk and fraud analysis and cybersecurity. Hence, to function efficiently, technological integration must happen alongside high safety and security standards, and any regulatory framework must be fluid enough to meet and address the evolving challenges to the security of all vested parties. There also needs to be a lot of education and understanding of the benefits of going cashless.
Robin C Lee
Group COO
Bok Seng Group
PRODUCE an ultra-secure platform with no hitch and I am certain Singaporeans will have no issue jumping on PayNow and others such as PayLah to embrace "less cash" and "less cheques". As a small nation advocating efficiency and productivity through technological advancement, Singapore must go all out to maximise the use of e-payments and cultivate a cashless culture.
It's a matter of time before fintech, with its proliferation of electronic networks, will eliminate all inefficient cash and cheques practices. Like many "disruptions" that have hit in recent years, this will prove to be yet another game-changer with immense impact on the ways businesses are conducted and bring about enhanced efficiency to global currency flows.
Toby Koh
Group Managing Director
Ademco Security Group
PAYNOW is an excellent initiative for cashless and seamless payment. Early indicators show a healthy signup rate. I believe that Singaporeans will increase use of such cashless means of payment. Contactless cards waved at point-of-sale terminals are a common sight these days.
The trend is inevitable as convenience is a major benefit of adoption. Retailers will choose to encourage cashless payment to increase their own efficiencies in speeding up transactions and eliminate the cost of handling cash. From a security and loss prevention strategy standpoint, cashless payment is the way to go.
David Leong
Managing Director
PeopleWorldwide Consulting Pte Ltd
CASHLESS payments will become the pervasive transactional mode very soon. To change consumers' behaviour rapidly to use less cash and less cheques, we must reduce the volume of cash and increase the cost of cheque issuance. Credit card transaction costs need to decrease to encourage less cash usage.
Businesses can benefit greatly if transactions can be made frictionless with lower costs. With less cash, the flow of funds between any transacting entities - be they people or organisations - will gain a higher level of transparency.
Money flow traceability, origination and transparency are some of the pluses arising from going cashless.
Annie Yap
CEO
AYP Associates
BUILDING awareness about digital wallet payment options is essential to encourage their adoption. There could be initiatives to educate Singaporeans on how to sign up for the services, and on the benefits such as convenience and security. Merchants also need to learn about all the nitty-gritty of cashless transactions, including making refunds, chargebacks and cancellations.
An expanded "PayNow" scheme - or a future unified QR code payment - will bring down the cost of digital transactions, such as eliminating processing fees associated with credit card payments and the need for expensive hardware such as an NFC terminal. Hawkers and other small businesses might then be potentially less deterred to go cashless.
Henry Tan
Managing Director
Nexia TS
ANY resistance to cashless payments usually stems from security concerns. Incentives work for Singaporeans. I remember that during the SARS crisis, a budget airline joked that if the ticket price is cheap enough, people will risk their lives to fly. Similarly, it can be said that, where there are sufficient incentive and value, Singaporeans will take it up.
I note that at food courts that promote payWave, when there were incentives, many of my friends would start using payWave and not be concerned about security. As we move towards an economy that is highly digitalised, the adoption of cashless payment will increase.
