The new Paya Lebar SingPost Centre is shaping up to be a really happening place.

While it has not been officially opened just yet, several shops and restaurants are currently up and running, with a few more opening soon, such as Gong Cha in December 2017.

Scan and go

The premises also feature a NTUC FairPrice supermarket with the Scan2Go system that allows shoppers to scan items as they shop.

They can then proceed directly to payment without having to let the cashier scan any items or having to do so by oneself at the self-checkout counter.

Before this, the only NTUC FairPrice branch that had the system was FairPrice Finest at Bukit Timah Plaza, where the system was in its pilot phase.

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How does it work? 

Firstly, you need to register yourself manually for a Scan2Go membership card.

After getting your card, get a trolley or basket, and scan your card to activate a handset.

Then can you start scanning the items by yourself.

Take the handset with you to scan the barcode on items you're buying.

Items sold in bulk has a one main barcode for you to scan from.

The handset also tallies whatever you've scanned so far, and shows you the current running total.

You can also delete away items in case you change your mind.

After you've received and scanned all the items with your handheld scanner, you can proceed to the Scan2Go checkout and pay for your items.

The handset communicates with the self-checkout via QR code, where you scan the QR code on screen, and the handset sends the list of items and the total bill to the machine.

Pretty nifty, huh? Don't forget to put back the scanner too.

No sale of alcohol to minors, random checks

We hope we don't have to remind you of this, but don't try to scan fewer items than you are supposed to though.

Staff will conduct random scans, so forget it if you're trying to sneak in that extra chocolate bar.

Regarding minors, the minimum age required to sign up for a card is 16. If you're concerned about minors trying their luck to buy alcohol, rest assured that all purchases of alcohol will issue a system prompt, which means the staff have to come over and clear the purchase.

Better luck next time when you're older, kiddos.

If you're feeling extra lazy, NTUC's Click and Collect Feature is also available at this outlet, where you can shop online and then pick up your purchases here (or any outlet near you that offers this feature)

While we're still some way to go before we become a real Smart Nation, it's pretty awesome to see such advances in technology being put in place.

However, seeing that there were still plenty of staff around despite self-service technology-aided check out in place, well, that is another story for another day.