Pandemic Accelerating Shift to Cashless Society By 4 Years

A new study by the payments giant reveals the growing popularity of digital payment methods such as online wallets, mobile contactless payments and QR code payments among Singaporeans.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is hastening the demise of cash-based transactions in the city-state by at least four years, Visa said in its Consumer Payment Attitudes Study, published Thursday.

The survey shows a preference among Singapore consumers for contactless card payments (31 percent), followed by online card payments (23 percent). Visa said that more than 9 in 10 transactions of its transactions by Singapore consumers are contactless – one of the highest in the world.

Fewer than one in five Singaporean consumers (15 percent) prefer using cash, the survey revealed, noting that its use has fallen by 45 percent for public transport transactions and 42 percent for health and fitness-related transactions. Overall, more than one-third of Singaporean consumers who prefer using cash (35 percent) used this payment method less frequently.

According to the survey, Singaporean consumers have shown receptiveness to emerging payment trends, including installment payments (87 percent) and real-time bill payments (80 percent).

The stickiness of new digital payment habits formed during the pandemic cannot be underestimated… With cash usage decreasing, we believe there is a significant opportunity to encourage more usage of digital payments in the country, Kunal Chatterjee, Visa country manager for Singapore and Brunei, said in a statement.