Large-scale Adoption of Digital Ordering and Cashless Payment Systems
Ministry of Trade and IndustrySpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the barriers to digital ordering and cashless payment adoption for small food stalls and the strategies within the Food Services Industry Transformation Map to encourage such technologies. Assoc Prof Randolph Tan inquired about the factors preventing large-scale adoption and the government's efforts to push for labour-saving solutions in businesses like hawker centres. Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Ms Sim Ann identified habit, adoption costs, and system interoperability as primary challenges currently being addressed through grants and unified payment devices. She highlighted that agencies are promoting low-cost solutions like QR codes and aim to establish 100 productive coffee shops by 2020. The government’s ultimate goal is to reach a 50% adoption rate of digital services across all food establishments by 2020 to reduce manpower reliance.
Transcript
14 Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) what are the major factors preventing a large-scale adoption of digital ordering and cashless payment systems for small food stalls, such as those in coffee shops and hawker centres; and (b) how will the Food Services Industry Transformation Map push for greater use of such labour-saving technologies by this type of small businesses.
The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Sim Ann) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry)): One of the focus areas of the Food Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) launched last September is to reduce the industry's reliance on manpower. The use of digital services like digital ordering and cashless payments will help us achieve this.
As of March 2017, approximately 1,400 food outlets, or 20% of all establishments, have adopted some form of digital services. Most have done so recently, and we will actively encourage more to do so.
The key factors affecting the take-up of digital solutions are, first, habit; second, the cost of adoption; and third, the fact that many digital payment systems are currently not interoperable. We believe that all three factors can be addressed.
First, for greater convenience of use, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), along with other agencies, is working with payment service providers to make essential payment modes available in a single device.
Second, both the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) provide grants to offset the costs to stallholders of adopting digital service solutions. NEA is also progressively rolling out cashless payments infrastructure at hawker centres. At the same time, SPRING and NEA are working with MAS to study how to lower the cost of digital service systems by using models which do not require separate equipment or which use existing equipment. This could include the use of Quick Response (QR) codes for payment.
Third, we are looking to directly promote adoption. Last year, the Government launched two tenders for productive coffee shops in Tampines and Choa Chu Kang, which included productivity considerations in their requirements. More productive coffee shops will be launched, and we have set a target to have 100 of these by 2020.
Through all of these initiatives, our goal is to achieve 50% adoption rate of digital services across all food and beverage outlets by 2020.