Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to join you here today for the launch of the NETS CashBack service.

You may remember that I spoke not long ago of the need for a low-cost, low-frills banking service for our lower income workers. Many bank customers have very simple banking needs. All they want is a place to credit their salary every month, and a convenient way to withdraw small amounts of cash for their daily expenses. Unfortunately for them, it has become more expensive to service their accounts. The NTUC called for new and creative ways to lower the cost to small account holders. I am very glad that NETS, the participating banks, and several major retail outlets in Singapore responded positively. They put together the CashBack proposal in a very short time. And the proposal became a reality when the Monetary Authority of Singapore gave its blessing and made it possible.

The NETS CashBack service is a simple and low-cost way for consumers to withdraw cash from their bank accounts. In the past, we had to go to a bank branch or to an ATM to get cash. With this new service, ATM cardholders will have an additional way to withdraw cash from many cashpoints that are conveniently located and open for most parts of the day. Consumers can go to the participating outlets of NTUC FairPrice, Liberty Market, Cheers, BP, Delifrance, and Metro to withdraw cash at their counters. All we need to do is to ask the cashier to charge us for the amount we wish to withdraw, take the cash, and have the amount deducted electronically from our bank account. It is as though we are buying some cash and paying for it by NETS. More merchants will be invited to offer this service. In time to come, there will be hundreds of new places where one can withdraw small amounts of cash.

This type of cash withdrawal service is already widely available and popular in Australia, Britain and the United States. To prepare for the service, NTUC FairPrice sent a study team to Coles, which is the biggest supermarket operator in Australia. They saw that CashBack is a win-win concept for consumers and the banks. Consumers like it because of the long opening hours and the presence of many cash tills at many well located outlets. The banks support the service, and pay the retailers to provide it, because it is cheaper than operating their own branches or setting up ATMs. CashBack lets their customers withdraw cash at many more points, yet the banks don’t have to employ more staff and top up cash at the withdrawal points frequently. This is done by the merchants at the front end.

I hope that CashBack will take off in Singapore. I also hope it will pave the way for more innovations that will leverage on the synergy between the banks and retailers through the NETS network. Some banks are already talking with NTUC FairPrice to introduce ‘limited purpose banking’ in its retail outlets. This is a welcome move. I look forward to more initiatives that will lower the cost of basic banking, and I urge that the savings should be passed on to our workers.

In conclusion, I congratulate NETS, the participating banks and the retailers - NTUC FairPrice, Liberty Market, Cheers, BP, Delifrance and Metro – on the launch of this new CashBack service.

************