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Former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng went on Facebook to "name and shame" certain food stalls at a food court in the CBD that only accept cash.

On Feb. 10, 2023, Cheng posted two pictures of food stalls with signs that said "cash term" and "only cash will be accepted".

Cheng wrote: "Another backward foodcourt in the CBD that ONLY accepts cash. Name and Shame."

While Cheng later clarified that only several stalls in that food court enforced a "cash only" policy, he went on to say it was "so shameful" that the drink shop stopped allowing transactions by PayNow.

In another comment, Cheng called for a boycott of  "all businesses that do not offer alternatives to cash."

"They must not hamper Singapore's development as a smart nation," Cheng said.

Stall owners may have reasons why they only accept cash

Many netizens commented on Cheng's post, saying stall owners might have valid reasons for implementing such a rule.

One comment stated that some stall owners might not be able to keep up with constantly upgrading technology.

Others pointed out that customers logging onto apps to pay may take more time, which slows down and delays the stalls.

If banks charge transaction fees, the business' profit margins will be affected.

While the fees to receive transfers via PayNow have been waived till 2025 for banks including DBS, UOB, and Maybank, others may charge businesses a fee for receiving PayNow transactions.

One netizen also posted on Facebook to highlight his own experience at the food court that Cheng mentioned in his post.

"Anyone who's ever stood in a peak hour hawker drinks line that accepts cashless will know that the service is much slower, the queue never ends, and it delays understaffed stalls from actually getting work done [because] they have to stand and wait for the damn machines to load," wrote the user.

Others called out Cheng's harsh use of words like "shameful" and "boycott" and said Cheng should use his platform to find a solution and help these stall owners.

Cheng doubles down

Despite the backlash he received, Cheng continued to double down in the comment section and defended his view.

Cheng stressed that it was "shameful to ONLY accept cash in 2023. Embarrassing for an advanced nation. They should not be allowed to operate in the CBD especially."

Cheng wrote: "It's unbelievable and embarrassing that there are people in the comments section here that are defending the use of cash ONLY. I hope this is the minority otherwise Singapore is finished. We will indeed be a village full of backward villagers."

Cheng emphasised throughout his comments that his gripe lay with "cash only" and not cash as an alternative.

Cheng goes as far as callings stall owners who do not print out the Quick Response (QR) code as "lazy" and "close-minded".

After his post attracted over 700 comments, Cheng turned off his comments, limiting who could comment on his post.

According to The Straits Times, Cheng runs a Financial Technology company called Damoon Technologies, a digital asset firm.

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Photos via Cheng's Facebook