ePAYMENTS

3 May 2021 | Wallets, credit cards... we hardly walk around with them anymore. We generally don’t need them. In Singapore, you can pay for almost anything with your phone or watch which is connected to your bank account. The ease with which you can make payments for anything is astonishing.

Just today, we paid our taxes to the government. We went to the website of the IRAS, used PayNow on our DBS app to scan a code on the IRAS website which immediately allowed us to pay the full amount of our taxes with a single click. Taxes paid... less than one minute.

We go for a long run in the heat and the sun after which we typically get a soda water at the 7Eleven. Walk right in, get a soda water, use the DBS on our Apple Watch to pay for S$2.50 for our waters, and walk out.

Forgot your subway pass for the MRT or bus. No worries. Just use the DBS app on your phone or watch to scan in and out. Done.

One of the last hold-outs are the food centres, some of which take PayLah our PayNow but most of which take cash only. So, we do carry cash around so that we always have the option to grab a snack or beer at the food centre.

But in general, Singapore has transitioned to a cashless society that accepts electronic payments everywhere. It’s easy, simply and efficient.