E-payment Drive: Singapore's quest to become a cashless society

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Paying by cash is no longer part of daily life in China. And Singapore is following in China's footstep transforming itself to go cashless. CGTN's Miro Lu has the story.

Singapore is one of the most digital savvy countries in the world. According to a World Economic Forum report released last year, it is one of seven economies, that has a high level of adoption in information and communications technologies.

But the city-state says it is lagging behind China in terms of e-payment.

LEE HSIEN LOONG SINGAPOREAN PRIME MINISTER "Indeed, in major Chinese cities, cash has become obsolete. Even debit and credit cards are becoming rare. Everyone is using WeChat Pay or AliPay and these apps are linked to your bank account. "

Singapore does have e-payment system, but there had been too many different schemes and systems that do not talk to each another. While the e-payment trend in China had started off as an initiative led by the private sector, Singapore's quest to become a cashless society is now a national priority.

SOPNENDU MOHANTY CHIEF FINTECH OFFICER, MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE "In China there is a huge gap, so the large players or the innovative companies took that opportunity build their innovation. In Singapore, it's almost a reverse story. Very strong electronic platform already existed, so there's an incremental need to solve that customer pinpoint to the cellphone."

Singapore's push for wider use of e-payment presents a good opportunity for Chinese companies such as mobile payment company Alipay as it expands its presence in Singapore.

SOPNENDU MOHANTY CHIEF FINTECH OFFICER, MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE "Yes, you have Alipay here. You have China Union Pay here. So we don't stop anybody from coming to the market. Because we believe in a more open, competitive space."

This is the hawker center in Singapore to first adopt the QR code payment, however, reception to it seems to be lukewarm based on our observation.

HAWKER More people are using cash, some of us do not know how to use the QR code.

BENSON LOW CHAIRMAN, TANJONG PAGAR PLAZA MARKET & FOOD CENTRE ASSOCIATION "Recently there were banks coming here to promote the cashless payment method. We are encouraging the customers to use the QR code as it's very simple, you just need to scan."

MIRO LU SINGAPORE The cashless payment method here is still in its initial stage, but with the Singapore government putting in the effort to push for the change, it's just a matter of time before Singapore becomes a cashless society. Miro Lu, CGTN, Singapore.