Singapore's Cashless Shift: Why Notes and Coins Still Matter

Digital payments grow, but cash keeps a place

Singapore's electronic payments rose from S$627 billion in 2018 to S$1.25 trillion in 2023, nearly doubling, while ATM withdrawals fell by 10% over the same period, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Those figures capture a transformation visible across the city, from shopping malls to hawker centres. Paying with a card or phone has become routine, yet living entirely without cash still depends on where someone shops, travels and eats.

As of July 8, 2025, Singapore's payment choices run in both directions. Some retailers refuse notes and coins, while some traditional food stalls accept nothing else. A customer can encounter both arrangements in the same day, making flexibility more useful than loyalty to a single payment method.

Statista and Visa's Consumer Payment Attitudes Study put the share of retail transactions at the point of sale made through cards, electronic wallets or other digital methods at 97% in 2022. More than 95% of Singaporeans use credit or debit cards for purchases. Contactless cards have become the norm, while mobile wallets and QR payments are increasingly used for transport, food and shopping.

Singapore's move toward digital payments began decades ago, then accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers and businesses sought convenience and reduced physical contact. Visa's study found that nearly two in three Singaporeans had tried going cashless, and more than two in five had managed it for at least a week.

Older residents are also adopting digital payments, although some face difficulties. The central policy challenge is therefore broader than increasing usage: Singapore must keep payments practical for people with different habits, resources and levels of confidence.

What a week using only cash revealed

A journalist's attempt to use only cash for a week showed how easily everyday routines can pull someone back toward digital payments. A ride booked through Grab, for example, could default automatically to a stored credit card. Avoiding that payment required attention even before the journey began.

MRT rides offered no cash payment option, while many cafes and shops had stopped accepting cash altogether. Bus passengers could still pay cash, but their fares were higher than fares paid using a card. Paying with notes and coins sometimes also meant longer queues and the inconvenience of finding the right change.

One Grab driver said only one or two passengers a day paid with cash. Some were young people who used physical money to keep track of spending. For them, handing over cash made the amount spent easier to follow, even as most passengers chose other methods.

Making change had become a particular nuisance because cash was no longer the usual payment method. A transaction that once felt ordinary could now require more effort from both customer and seller.

Heartland shops and hawker centres continued to provide places where cash was accepted, although QR payments were becoming common there too. The experiment illustrated a practical divide: cash remained useful, but it could no longer cover every routine purchase or journey.

Why some hawkers stay with notes and coins

A 2018 study by the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) found that about 40% of hawkers accepted mobile payments at the time. Adoption has likely increased since then through initiatives such as Hawkers Go Digital, although no updated proportion was given.

Small businesses have several reasons to retain cash. Transaction fees can reduce already thin profit margins, and acquiring a smartphone or payment terminal can add costs. For some older hawkers, familiar notes and coins are simpler to manage than an unfamiliar payment system.

Suppliers also matter. When cash is the usual way to pay for ingredients or other purchases, taking cash from customers fits the rest of a business's daily routine. Regular customers, especially seniors, may prefer the same arrangement.

Security concerns can work against digital adoption too. Some traders worry about making mistakes, falling victim to scams or losing access to payments during a system outage. For these businesses, cash offers a familiar process that does not depend on a working digital connection.

Ng Siew Lian, a wanton noodle and laksa hawker in her late 60s, explained why her stall continued to accept only cash:

All my customers know that my stall only takes cash, especially the regulars, they always bring cash, even the children. It's good for them to handle cash, if not they might not know our first president.

Ng and her sister had operated their stall for more than 40 years. Neither owned a mobile phone, and they saw no reason to change while their customers remained content. When someone arrived without cash, Ng could allow payment later, relying on a relationship with customers rather than an electronic transaction.

Why retailers choose to stop accepting cash

Decathlon took the opposite approach, becoming fully cashless in Singapore in June 2020. The sports retailer offered 15 payment options, but cash was no longer among them. Its reasoning centred on how stores operated and how employees spent their time.

Stephan Veyret, Decathlon's chief executive in Singapore, described the company's experience:

We've seen a notable improvement in operational efficiency and security, and this has allowed our teammates to focus their energy on what they do best: Interacting with customers and providing expert advice to support their sports journey.

Starbucks had moved 39 outlets to accepting only cashless payments. Its decisions depended on customer profiles and circumstances at individual stores. Outlets serving tourists or handling more cash continued to accept it, preserving a payment option where customers were more likely to need it.

Singapore's Currency Act allows merchants to refuse cash if they provide written notice. Customers therefore need to pay attention to the payment methods a business accepts, even when carrying enough money for a purchase.

MAS describes its objective as providing convenience and efficiency while ensuring that no one is left behind. The policy goal is not to force Singapore into a society without cash. That leaves room for businesses with very different customers and operating needs to make different choices.

A payment timeline shows the pace of change

Singapore's payment transition has developed through changes in consumer habits, business decisions and government support. The figures cover different measures, including acceptance by merchants, retail transactions and the value of electronic payments.

• 2018: The SUSS study found that about 40% of hawkers accepted mobile payments. Electronic payments totalled S$627 billion.
• June 2020: Decathlon became fully cashless in Singapore, offering 15 payment options.
• 2022: Statista and Visa's Consumer Payment Attitudes Study put digital methods at 97% of retail transactions at the point of sale.
• 2023: Electronic payments reached S$1.25 trillion, while ATM withdrawals were 10% lower than in 2018.
• 2024: A YouGov survey commissioned by Stripe found that 60% of respondents selected cash among their three preferred methods for payments in person.
• 2027: Cash use at the point of sale in Singapore is projected to fall to about 7%, with some projections suggesting it could move below that level.

The electronic payment totals show the scale of money moving through digital channels. The surveys also show that widespread adoption can coexist with a continuing preference for cash among many customers.

Tourists face a different payment puzzle

International visitors can use credit cards in Singapore, and the SGQR system brings different QR payment options together. A QR code is a pattern that a compatible payment app can scan to arrange a transaction. SGQR supports a variety of apps, including foreign options such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Visitors can nevertheless struggle at hawker centres and small stalls that accept neither cards nor the foreign electronic wallets they use. A traveller accustomed to paying by phone may find that their usual app is not accepted at a particular stall.

Visa's Global Travel Intentions study found that only 31% of travellers in Asia Pacific brought cash in 2023, compared with 79% in 2020. That was a decline of 48 percentage points, showing how quickly travel payment habits had changed.

Singapore's mix of payment methods can therefore be convenient in one setting and restrictive in another. Visitors from countries where cash is more common, or visitors without access to local payment apps, still need usable alternatives. Starbucks' decision to retain cash at outlets with more tourists reflects that practical need.

Singapore's connections with the wider region

China, South Korea and India are also pushing digital payments. In China, cash transactions are expected to fall to just 3% by 2027. India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed mobile payments by giving users a system for moving money electronically.

Singapore's PayNow is linked with Thailand's PromptPay, allowing instant transfers across the border at low cost using a phone number. The connection reduces the steps needed to send money between the two systems and offers a model that ASEAN hopes to expand across the region.

Digital wallets are expected to overtake credit cards as Singapore's most popular payment method within a few years. Cash use at the point of sale is projected to continue declining toward 7% by 2027, and potentially below it.

The Bank for International Settlements notes another part of the global picture: cash in circulation has increased in many advanced economies even while electronic payments have grown. Some people hold physical money as a store of value, keeping it rather than using it for everyday purchases.

Sweden and South Korea also retain cash as a fallback and a symbol of trust despite extensive digital adoption. Across countries, the amount of cash people keep and how often they spend it can follow different paths.

Convenience comes with costs and risks

Consumers gain speed and convenience from digital payments. They can avoid carrying cash, complete transactions quickly and use payment records to track expenses. Businesses can spend less time and money handling, storing and transporting physical money.

Retailers also cite lower exposure to theft and better records of transactions. Studies by the Boston Consulting Group suggest digital payments can support GDP growth by increasing the velocity of money and reducing the grey economy. The velocity of money describes how quickly money moves through transactions; the grey economy refers to activity outside formal records.

Seniors, people with low incomes and those without smartphones or bank accounts can face exclusion when businesses stop accepting cash. Digital transactions also leave data trails, creating privacy concerns alongside the risks of scams and cyberattacks.

Merchant fees remain a concrete issue for small businesses. A charge taken from each sale can matter to a hawker whose earnings depend on a narrow margin between the selling price and the cost of providing a meal.

Cash has its own handling demands, from counting takings to finding change. Singapore's experience shows why the balance varies between a large retailer with many payment options and a small stall serving regular customers.

Outages make a backup payment method valuable

Recent banking disruptions in Singapore have shown how outages can leave consumers unable to complete digital payments. Electronic systems depend on power and internet connections, so their convenience can disappear when the service needed for a transaction stops working.

Financial institutions are required to recover from critical outages within four hours. For a customer trying to pay at that moment, however, a recovery requirement does not provide an immediate way to finish the purchase.

Dr. Lee Yen Teik of the National University of Singapore explained why cash should remain part of the payment system:

Cash is the ultimate backup plan; it works without power or an internet connection. A truly strong system has backup options at every level. This means considering simple and low-tech alternatives and, most importantly, ensuring cash remains a viable and accepted option so there is always a fallback that works.

Cash can provide that fallback only where a seller accepts it. Maintaining a usable backup therefore involves both customers having physical money and businesses keeping a way to take it.

Helping more people make the transition

MAS and the Singapore Payments Council work with businesses on financial inclusion and resilience. Singapore's approach is gradual, using support and education to expand digital payments while preserving choice.

Hawkers Go Digital, fee subsidies and digital literacy workshops for seniors are among the measures intended to help people participate. They address different problems: costs for merchants, unfamiliarity with technology and the confidence needed to complete a payment.

DBS Bank's workshops reached 37,000 seniors, with 83% successfully completing at least one cashless transaction afterward. The result shows how practical instruction can help older customers begin using a payment method that may initially feel unfamiliar.

MAS spokespersons have repeatedly said the objective is not to eliminate cash. The aim is to give people payment choices and ensure that the move toward digital services does not leave anyone behind.

For hawkers and their customers, that approach leaves space for both adoption and continuity. A stall can gain digital payment options, while customers who need or prefer notes and coins retain a familiar way to pay.

Less cash does not mean no cash

The 2024 YouGov survey commissioned by Stripe found that 60% of respondents still placed cash among their top three preferred methods for payments in person. At the same time, 61% believed they would stop using cash within the next decade.

Those responses capture a population accustomed to digital convenience but still attached to physical money. Cash remains appealing for small purchases made in person, for managing spending and for people who value its familiarity.

Singapore's likely direction is a society using less cash, rather than one without it. Digital payments can dominate daily activity while notes and coins remain available for customers who need them, prefer them or require a backup during an outage.

Businesses already demonstrate that balance in different ways. Decathlon operates without cash, Starbucks retains it where customer needs support doing so, and Ng Siew Lian continues serving regulars through cash and the flexibility of allowing payment later. Singapore's challenge is to keep those choices workable as digital payments spread.

The Essentials

• Singapore's electronic payments rose from S$627 billion in 2018 to S$1.25 trillion in 2023; ATM withdrawals fell by 10%.
• Cards, mobile wallets and QR payments are widely used, but some hawkers and customers still prefer cash.
• Decathlon became fully cashless in June 2020, while Starbucks moved 39 outlets to accepting only cashless payments.
• Merchants may refuse cash under the Currency Act if they provide written notice.
• Tourists can encounter stalls that accept neither cards nor their foreign payment apps.
• Government support includes Hawkers Go Digital, fee subsidies and workshops for seniors.
• Cash remains useful during outages, while Singapore's policy prioritises choice rather than eliminating notes and coins.