Earnings boost for heartland merchants from PayLah cashback

A cashback initiative by POSB has boosted the takings of heartland merchants by about 40 per cent on weekends, as more customers turn to scan-to-pay options.

Since Aug 1, the first 75,000 people who use the DBS PayLah app for their purchases on Saturdays have received up to $3 cashback at more than 22,000 heartland shops, wet markets and hawker stalls, as part of POSB’s Support Our Heartlands initiative.

Providing an update on the initiative on Oct 13, DBS Bank said sales across all merchants on Saturdays and Sundays have increased by about 40 per cent, with one million cashback rewards redeemed so far.

Senior citizens and those earning less than $2,500 a month made up 39 per cent of these recipients, it added.

Wet market stallholders received the biggest boost, with PayLah usage tripling among customers and overall spending doubling at their stalls, said DBS. POSB is part of DBS Group.

The initiative, which will run until Dec 31, aims to offer more than two million cashback rewards and discounts at heartland shops and Sheng Siong supermarkets.

DBS said the areas with the most cashback redemptions are Serangoon, Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol, Jurong, Queenstown and Tiong Bahru.

The bank provided the update at a community event held at Toa Payoh West Market and Food Centre. There were activities focused on digital literacy and scam prevention for residents.

Madam Ivy Tan, 63, and her husband have been running Jasmine Florist at the market for 13 years. She started accepting PayLah payments during the pandemic.

She said business picked up after the roll-out of the POSB cashback initiative, which attracted both younger and older customers.

“Weekdays are steady, but the weekends are busier because of this,” she added.

Her neighbouring stall, Jin Fruits, has been a fixture at the market for more than 30 years. It is run by Mr Lim Teck Hee, 57.

“On Saturdays, elderly customers show up as early as 6am,” he said, adding that most use PayLah to enjoy the cashback.

However, some still prefer cash as they find using their phones difficult, he said. He helps those who have trouble navigating the app.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who attended the event, said in a speech that there will be support for the elderly who are not as comfortable using digital services. He assured residents that face-to-face transactions remain an option.

“What is important is to be able to help our residents of all ages, not just the younger residents but also our middle-aged and older residents, to feel that it is safe, and that you are confident in using these digital services,” Mr Chee said, adding that this links to broader digital and financial literacy efforts.

As the Government promotes digital solutions and services, it will ensure there is sufficient support so that no one is left behind, said Mr Chee, who is MP for the Toa Payoh West-Thomson ward in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

On its part, DBS has piloted a programme to improve digital literacy among heartland merchants in Nee Soon Link, Tampines West and Toa Payoh West.

Since September, more than 50 bank volunteers have visited merchants in these neighbourhoods and conducted three digital literacy sessions.

Since November 2022, DBS Foundation and the Infocomm Media Development Authority have also held more than 600 workshops for over 110,000 people to improve their digital literacy.

These programmes help merchants who fall through the cracks, said DBS country head Han Kwee Juan.

He added that the early results of the POSB cashback initiative are encouraging.

He noted that it expands on DBS’ 5 Million Hawker Meals scheme, which ran from February 2023 to July 2024, subsidising about eight million hawker meals. The scheme gave users cashback of up to $3 for using the PayLah app to pay for their meals on Fridays, mainly benefiting hawkers in the Central Business District.

With the new initiative, heartland shops – including wet market stalls – and coffee shops now make up 50 per cent of those receiving a boost, with hawkers making up the remaining half.

Asked whether DBS will extend the POSB initiative when it ends in December, Mr Han said the bank will decide then whether to continue its current approach or explore other options to support heartland merchants.