Overseas visitors can experience local Hawker Culture and use their domestic mobile wallets through VIA

Singapore, 29 June 2019 – Locals and visitors from overseas can now pay for their favourite food at popular hawker centres such as Maxwell Food Centre with Singtel’s Dash and partner mobile wallets on Singtel’s VIA network, under a unified e-payment solution for coffee shops, hawker centres and industrial canteens.                              

The initiative by Enterprise Singapore, Housing and Development Board, National Environment Agency and JTC introduces card and SGQR based payments to small food businesses. This allows for quick, easy and secure transactions with Dash, and by extension mobile wallets on VIA, at the small food businesses that operate at those premises. The initiative is expected to expand across 200 coffee shops, 25 hawker centres and 20 industrial canteens by September 2020.

Mr Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group, said, “Dash is all about enabling greater convenience for our customers and making their lives simpler. Now they can ‘Dash & Makan’ to enjoy seamless digital payments at hawker centres and coffee shops, a perfect example of how we want to make Dash part of their daily lives. This is also a huge boost for our VIA alliance of wallets. Hawker food is a must-try in Singapore and we’re excited to make it easier for our overseas travellers to enjoy such an iconic Singaporean experience.”

Mr Richard Ng of stall 64 China Street Fritters at Maxwell Food Centre, said, “Digital payments like Dash are everywhere now so it makes sense that we also offer this option at hawker centres. I’m glad to have an e-payments system to help make things more convenient as I run my stall. I’m also very excited that overseas visitors can now pay with their phones when they eat here. Personally, I enjoy introducing tourists to our local food. Since they may not be familiar with our currency, letting them pay with their own mobile wallets would be much easier for them.”

Dash, which has already been accepted at the Singtel Comcentre canteen since its launch in 2014, can also be used at NUS canteens, selected Polytechnic canteens and restaurants. It has been well-received by stall-holders and merchants for the convenience it brings to them and customers.

Over the course of the year, Dash will work with its VIA alliance partners such as AIS to launch a series of hawker experiential journeys bringing in visitors from the region to sample the rich diversity of hawker food that Singapore has to offer.  Dash recently expanded its acceptance to bus and train rides in Singapore, reinforcing its position as an all-in-one mobile wallet for daily use. It is the only mobile payments app that allows users to commute, shop in-store and at online retailers worldwide with their Visa Virtual Account, and send money locally and overseas. Dash is available on any mobile platform and to everyone regardless of telco or banking relationship.   

For more information on Dash please visit www.dash.com.sg.

For a real-time updated list of locations that accept Dash under this initiative, visit www.epaysg.com.

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