Singaporeans are becoming increasingly confident of going cashless with 7 in 10 (68 per cent) saying they can go without cash for an entire day, and almost half (42 per cent) saying they can go cashless for up to three days, according to the 2017 Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes survey.
The majority of Singaporeans (85 per cent) prefer electronic payments over cash, representing the highest preference for electronic payments in the Southeast Asia region, followed by Indonesia (83 per cent), Vietnam (77 per cent) and Malaysia (71 per cent).
Findings
In terms of payment habits and sentiments, Singaporeans see cashless as a faster and more convenient way to pay. Seventy-four per cent say they currently do not use cash at point-of-sale, as they do not like to hold up the queue at checkout counters. Moreover, half of respondents prefer shops that accept electronic payment options instead of only cash (55 per cent).
The study also showed that a third of Singaporeans are carrying less cash with them as compared to a year ago. The top reasons are due to increased payment card usage (66 per cent), and contactless payments (55 per cent).
Overall, the survey shows that Singaporeans are confident about the country becoming a cashless society. Twenty per cent of them are confident that a cashless society is possible for Singapore in less than three years. Forty-one percent believed that it will take four to seven years whilst 21 per cent think it will take a longer period of eight to 15 years.
Photo credits to Visa
