(BlockBar) A recent survey of Singapore residents by PayPal found that less than 10% of respondents cited cash as their preferred mode of payment when using government e-services. These e-services include B2B platforms such as Licence One, which allows businesses to pay all licencing fees using a one-stop-shop portal, and ACRA.
In April, PayPal conducted an Everyday Services Survey to understand the preferences of Singapore residents in their use of everyday services such as government e-services and food delivery apps.
For government e-services, of the four key payment modes listed in the survey, digital payments ranked second, with 21% of the respondents saying it’s their preferred mode. This figure is almost twice as many as those who chose GIRO (12%). The most preferred method was credit cards (55%).
“We believe that as the nation digitalises and e-government services become more integral to the lives of Singapore residents, cash can be gradually phased out. We are also observing that digital payments are on the rise, not only in Singapore but in many parts of the world where increased mobility is driving the adoption of digital payments,” said Mr. Rakesh Krishnamuti, Country Manager for Singapore at PayPal.
“Digital payment providers can play an important role in furthering this adoption by working closely with government agencies and with one another to improve interoperability for consumers and businesses. For example, PayPal works with the Licence One platform to ensure a secure and seamless experience for businesses using it, by ensuring payments are disbursed to the various agencies without businesses having to separately make the payments,” Mr. Krishnamuti said.
In the same way, cash is on its way out for everyday apps like food delivery. The survey highlighted that seven out of 10 respondents order from food delivery apps at least once a week, with less than 5% choosing cash-upon-delivery as their go-to payment mode. In-app wallets (including stored credit topped up with credit cards or PayPal) were the second most popular option, with 28% of the respondents choosing it. Credit cards tops this question with more than 60% choosing it.
“With the rise of the superapps catering to everything from transport to shopping to food, and consumers looking for seamless, one-stop-shop experiences, it is even more important for payments to disappear into platforms, which is what trusted PayPal offerings such as OneTouch and PayPal.me facilitates,” Mr Krishnamuti said.
“More importantly, it is encouraging to see that less than 5% of survey respondents chose cash-upon-delivery as their go-to payment option for food delivery,” Mr. Krishnamuti continued. “It can even be inferred or argued that everyday digital and e-services and apps are helping to phase out cash and bringing us one step closer to becoming a cashless nation.”
