Singapore's EZ-Link and NETS said on Wednesday that EZ-Link and concession cardholders will be able to make payments for their food and drinks at all NETS-enabled hawker centres from April 2018. They can tap their cards on the existing NETS terminals to complete their payments.
The companies said in a joint press release that due to the tie-up the hawkers only need one terminal for NETS card or EZ-Link card payments.
According to the media release, the partnership will fulfill the needs of senior citizens and students as a large majority of these people may not have bank accounts, to use their concession cards for payments at NETS terminals in hawker centers. This latest initiative is a part of the collective Singapore journey towards becoming an e-payment society.
Last year in September, NETS rolled out quick response (QR code) payments at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market and Food Centre that allowed the customers to pay for their meal by scanning a QR code with their mobile devices.
EZ-Link and NETS said that there are over 1,000 stalls across more than 30 hawker centers, including the ones at Beo Crescent, Tanjong Pagar, Yishun Park and Zion Road, which accept NETS QR code and card payments at present. Apart from these, the food courts and canteens at Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and the National Technological University also accept similar payment process.
"The partnership is a significant milestone in our efforts to build a cashless ecosystem at hawker centers because we are now able to offer all Singaporeans, young and old, a 'single interface' payments experience at hawker centers," NETS CEO Jeffrey Goh told Channel NewsAsia.
Nicholas Lee, EZ-Link CEO said that this collaboration will give many other opportunities for EZ-Link and concession card holders to make cashless transactions across the country with a single interface, starting with hawker centers.
"We hope to continue to establish similar partnerships to increase our acceptance points across Singapore and empower Singaporeans of all ages in the nation's cashless journey," Lee added.
