The public will be able to use their NETS FlashPay cards at more hawker centres this year. The card allows diners to pay for items simply by waving it, similar to how the EZ-link card works on buses and trains.
This is currently available only at three hawker centres, but the service will be expanded to another 10 to 20 more. The Bedok Hawker Centre, which was officially opened on Sunday (Jan 11), is the latest to offer this service, following the footsteps of hawker centres in Beo Crescent and Clementi Ave 3.
Some diners Channel NewsAsia spoke to welcomed the convenience. “It is a very good idea because I don’t have to carry too much cash with me. If I have insufficient money to buy food, I know my card will pay for everything I need,” said 49-year-old homemaker Julie Tenh.
“It’s convenient and easy to use; when you have no cash, you can just use the card,” added Esther Wong, a 22-year-old student who had used the FlashPay card to purchase a S$2 drink.
NETS says the service is offered free-of-charge to the hawkers at Bedok Hawker Centre for a year, after which they have to pay a fee of S$28 a month. So far, about 60 per cent of the hawkers have signed up.
NETS is also looking at introducing a system that makes it easier for diners to buy and pick up their food, which will help hawkers with manpower constraints.
“Imagine when you are ordering your chicken rice, you key in on the self-service terminal that you ordered chicken rice and you put in your mobile phone number,” said NETS CEO Jeffrey Goh. “When it is ready, they will send you a text to notify you to go and pick up your chicken rice. So in the meantime, you can go and order other food without waiting.”
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
