Do people in Singapore still use cash?
Yes, though less each year. In UOB’s 2025 survey, 63% of Singaporeans said they still use cash in regular transactions, mainly at hawker centers and small shops. Online, cash and other minor methods weigh only about 2% of transactions.
In detail
Yes, though less each year. In UOB’s 2025 survey, 63% of Singaporeans said they still use cash in regular transactions, mainly at hawker centers and small shops. Online, cash and other minor methods weigh only about 2% of transactions.
Payment by cash in Singapore
Singapore has moved far from cash, but it has not dropped it. In UOB’s 2025 ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study, 63% of Singaporeans said they still use cash in their regular transactions, and 51% prefer cash when traveling abroad, the highest share in ASEAN. MAS retail payment statistics, quoted by PwC Singapore, recorded S$55.14 billion of ATM cash withdrawals in 2024, more than half the value of credit card payments.
Where cash is still used
Cash matters most at hawker centers, wet markets and small neighborhood shops, although many hawkers now also display an SGQR code. It also keeps a place with older shoppers. Online, cash is marginal: a 2026 IDC study for 2C2P gives cash and other minor methods about 2% of e-commerce transactions, and Shopee Singapore no longer lists cash on delivery among its payment options. The government strategy is a gradual shift from cash to digital payments, not a ban, and stored-value cards such as NETS FlashPay remain a cash-like option for small payments and transit.
More detail in our #PayWorldTour guide Payment methods in Singapore.