Penang market stall owners going cashless

GEORGE TOWN: A number of stall owners from Taman Lip Sin Sungai Dua wet market, near here who have adopted the cashless payment method are content with the results.

A check by Bernama yesterday morning found that five market stalls here have stickers, small boards and banners to show customers how to use the QR codes if they preferred making transactions using their e-wallet application.

A stall owner, 57-year-old fishmonger Toh Beng Teik, said a number of his regulars especially the youngsters and adults in their 30s and 40s have already been going cashless to make their purchases.

“The much older ones are still unfamiliar with this and are still using cash for their purchases. Most of the customers prefer using either Boost or Touch ‘n Go e-wallet applications,” he told Bernama.

His son, Toh Kai Wen, 23, said that he helped his father apply for the cashless payment method about three months ago.

Kai Wen said that while the idea of implementing the cashless payment system was still fairly new and unique to them, he and his father saw potential benefits of applying it into their business.

“Customers would not have to carry cash around and we too do not have to give them change with our cash, which are usually wet and dirty because of our work,” he said.

Meanwhile, a 25-year-old greengrocer, Jessie Lee said that around three to four of her customers have been using ewallet for their daily purchase since she set up her own QR code two weeks ago.

She said about 10 of her customers preferred the cashless payment option especially during weekends, when the wet market is busy with more customers.

“It is very convenient for both myself and the customers. After they have made their payment, the money goes straight to my bank account,” she said.

Another fruit seller Tan Choon Ean, 45, said on the average about 20 customers use the e-wallet application daily ever since she and her son Lai Fu Rong, 20, added three QR codes for different ewallet payments three months ago.

She said while the cashless payment system has helped her in tracking transactions made through the transaction history, she was unsure and slightly annoyed that not all transactions were tracked and made instantly on certain days.

“This usually happens during weekends. The transactions do not go through (to my bank account) and I believe this is because these are non-business days,” she said. - Bernama