Happy Fishes, a seafood stall, has become the first wet market vendor to offer cashlesspayment on Nets. It started this week. Its owner, Mr Lee Leong Chye, who runs stall numer 01-123 in Tiong Bahru market, said he has been wanting to offer his cutomers thte option to pay by Nets for years. He first asked for a point of sale terminal, or POS for short, three years ago. The snag was that it has to be wired to a telephone line to process transactions. That was not ideal for a wet market. Finally, Nets has a wireless POS with a keypad with raised buttons, which is suitable for “water, fish blood and scales,” said Mr Lee. The raised buttons make it easier to key in instructions to complete a transaction.
Its wireless feature means that no wires will be snaking across wet floors. He has hired an assistant to gut fish so he can keep his hands clean and dry to use the Nets POS and serve customers. Nets is the provider of the Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sal network for banks and merchants. It was set up in 1985. Customers pay with their ATM cards. Their bank accounts are debited directly when they key in a PIN number., authorising the transaction at the POS. Happy Fishes specialises in live seafood. Premium prices mean that a week’s worth f seafood can come to more than $100. Nets is convenient for customers, said Mr Lee, as they do not have to worry about not having enough cash to pay for the seafood.
Happy Fishes is the only wet market vendor to sign up, said Nets. It has 63,000 POS units in use. EZ-Link is the other Singapore company promoting cashless payment to small business, convenience stores and food beverages outlets. EZ-Link already has 15,000 terminals installed in non-transport businesses and has issued about 10 million cards or about two for every resident here. Nets and EZ-Link continue to compete in the card game while embracing a new battlefront. Nets has developed the iNets Mobile app and EZ-Link, the EZ-Link Mobile App, for mobile payments. EZ-Link’s Mr Lee said his company plans to use a “bridging” NFC technology while waiting for the IDA’s NFC infrastructure to be set up.
FISHMONGER
ACCEPTS
NETS Mr Lee Leong Chyeis is the only wet market vendor to offer customers cashless payment. Will others follow his lead and take the bait too? REPORTED BY HELLEN TAN
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