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Singapore’s cashless march continues despite bank outages

Ambitions of going cashless have been around for decades. But frequent banking outages have cast the spotlight on the growth and resiliency of such payments. What’s the way forward?

Raphael Lim

Raphael Lim

Published Fri, Dec 8, 2023 · 02:00 PM
    • Local consumers largely rely on credit and debit cards, which make up around 57 per cent of electronic payments.
    • Local consumers largely rely on credit and debit cards, which make up around 57 per cent of electronic payments. ILLUSTRATION: SIMON ANG, BT

    WEANING Singaporeans off cash has taken decades, and the process continues.

    As early as the 1980s, there were already campaigns to minimise cash transactions. These included moving to cashless paydays, encouraging the payment of bills through Giro, and implementing electronic payments at points of sale, with a goal to make cashless transactions “a way of life”.

    On the face of it, the dream of a cashless society appears to be close to reality. Today, nearly four in five transactions at points of sale in Singapore are carried out digitally.

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