From Aug. 1 until the end of the year, the first 75,000 people who scan to pay with PayLah! at participating merchants on Saturdays will get up to S$3 cashback.

These comprise hawker stalls, heartland shops and wet markets that display the "POSB Support Our Heartland Shops" wobbler.

Hawker stalls will also display the PayLah! Scan to Pay sticker and have to be SGQR code-enabled.

In addition, those who use POSB credit or debit cards will also get S$3 off eggs and S$3 off rice at any Sheng Siong supermarket, capped at the first 50,000 redemptions for each essential item per month. Purchases can be made on any day of the month.

These initiatives are under POSB's “Support Our Heartlands” announced on Saturday (Jul. 27).

As an expansion of the weekly hawker meal subsidy scheme that ended on Jul. 26, "Support Our Heartlands" will run from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024.

Han Kwee Juan, Singapore Country Head for DBS, said that the bank hopes to help Singaporeans and residents "save more on their everyday spending", while also "encouraging patronage of heartland businesses".

Heartland Merchant Banking Package

The bank will also be offering a “Heartland Merchant Banking Package”.

This package provides financing support for small neighbourhood businesses by alleviating operational barriers and facilitating entry into banking services.

For instance, new companies can set up a Multi-Currency Business Account with no initial deposit and no minimum balance.

To encourage greater adoption of digital payments, merchants are also offered a free six-months' subscription for NETS terminals.

DBS/POSB will also scale its digital and financial literacy programmes to more neighbourhoods, to ensure that digital and financial education are more accessible and convenient.

Top photo via DBS, Mothership reader.