Ex-Nominated Member of Parliament, Calvin Cheng, took to Facebook to name and shame foodstalls at a food court that only accepted cash for transactions, calling for a boycott of their businesses.
He shared photos of two food stalls, with one sign reading “cash term” while the other read “only cash will be accepted”.
He captioned the photos of the signs: “Another backward foodcourt in the CBD that ONLY accepts cash. Name and shame.”
Cheng then updated his post via the comments section, saying: “have corrected, it’s several stalls in food court that only accept cash. In fact it’s so shameful that the drinks shop discontinued paynow,” and “boycott all businesses that do not offer alternatives to cash. They must not hamper Singapore’s development as a smart nation.”
Slammed by netizens
Cheng’s call for boycott was met with overwhelming backlash from netizens, who questioned his motives and asked “what is there to shame?”
Here are some of the comments:
- There can be many reasons why an outlet don’t want to go cashless transaction. It could be they are not as tech savvy, or the cost of using tech is too high for them, or they had experienced many dishonest consumers who don’t pay for their meals. Have you attempt to speak to them to understand why? In any case, they are the business owner, they have the right to decide what’s the mode of payment is best for them. Certainly to be named and shamed is not what an inclusive society should be doing.
- As someone with experience as a cashier, I can say that when there is a long queue of people waiting to make payment, cash payment is the fastest mode of payment for anything below $100.
Using credit card is second fastest but is most costly for the retailer. This is followed by NETS (because the customer needs to key in their PIN). PayNow is the slowest mode of payment, because very often, the customer fumbles with the app, waiting for the pages to load, point the camera to the QR code, show proof of payment, etc.
As a retailer, I want to make the transaction as fast as possible, so that I can process more customers within the same period of time. This is why I will choose cash payment only. Less decisions for the customer, more sales, more revenue. - Oi hello! Nothing wrong with wanting to accept cash only. The stall operator may be old and it’s tiring for them to go to an ATM to withdraw money.
Some older generation hawkers are also not tech savvy and may not have full trust in technology and banking apps.
There is absolutely no need to shame these individuals or call for a boycott.
You really need to grow the F up and think before you post.
Here’s a scenario for you.. imagine the stall holder/operator being elderly or he/she may have a medical condition that makes walking difficult. You expect them to walk to an ATM daily?
There is also a good amount of people who pay in cash thus hawker’s need to collect cash to make change for those who pay in cash.
It’s not rocket science. Don’t let your “internet stardom” take control.
I am pretty damn sure, a lot of folks will agree with what I’ve said.
With all that said, judging from all of your post, you seem pretty obsessed with this cashless topic.
Stubborn in the face of criticism
