Governments across Asia are encouraging their populations into becoming cashless societies. But not everyone can cope.
E-payments are expanding across Asia at breakneck speed. Hong Kong, Singapore and predominantly China lead the way. Singapore’s education minister, Ong Ye Kung wants his country to use less cash, according to his recent speech.
Ong is not just education minister however he is also a Monetary Authority of Singapore board member. In his keynote address to the association of banks in Singapore Ong said more than eight in 10 Singapore consumers have adopted e-payments, while nearly three in five merchants now accept e-payments.
Falling Withdrawals
The Singapore government-endorsed payments platform, «PayNow», now has more than 1.4 million registered users, and almost S$900 million has been transferred through the service since its launch last year, according to Ong. Cash withdrawals at ATMs have also been falling by more than S$300 million a year, Ong added.
Hong Kong was one of the first places in the world to launch a cashless payment system when the Octopus payment card was rolled out in 1997 for use on public transport. The card has since been adopted for payment in supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants and car parks. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority expedited e-wallet services in the city in 2016 when it issued stored value facilities licences.
Quickly Embraced
In China, mobile payments and smartphone-based apps have been quickly embraced for their convenience in avoiding long queues and crowds. The rapid growth accelerated as Chinese mobile payment giants developed user-friendly platforms such as WeChat Pay to encourage cashless transactions.
According to a report jointly produced by Chinese e-payments firm Tencent, the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, and French market research firm Ipsos, 84 percent of Chinese said they are «comfortable» going out with only mobile phones, no cash.
Resistance and Concerns
However despite the headlong rush into dumping cash completely there is resistance. There are also concerns about the financial exclusion of certain sections of society, such as the elderly or lower-income citizens.
