Cashless Payments in Singapore – What are Best Cashback Credit Cards?
Remember all those coins you used to stash in your piggy bank when you were a kid? Well, they’re pretty much useless now that the government’s trying to turn this place into a cashless society. And there are a lot of methods you can make cashless payments in Singapore.
While technically any type of credit or debit card payment counts as cashless, today we’re going to focus on a few types of cashless payments that literally let you tap and pay:
Visa PayWave or MasterCard PayPass
Contactless smartphone payments with Apple Pay Samsung Pay and Google Pay
NETS FlashPay top-ups
Saving 10 seconds using contactless payments is nice, but not if it means sacrificing those sweet sweet cash rebates.
So here are the best cashback credit cards for when you’re using cashless payments.
Credit card | Cashback for cashless payments | Things to note |
Citi Cash Back Card / Citibank SMRT Card / Citi M1 Card | 5% for Apple Pay | Offer only valid till 31 Jul 2018. Cashback cap of $25 |
BOC Family Card | 5% for NETS FlashPay Auto Top Up (first 4 top-ups) | Min. spend $700 Cashback cap $40 for supermarkets, hospital bills, NETS FlashPay Auto Top-up, selected merchants and telco bills |
DBS Live Fresh Card | 5% on Visa PayWave purchases (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay) | Min. spend $600 Cashback cap $60 Cashback cap on Visa PayWave spend $20 (from 1 Jun 2018) |
UOB Delight | 3% rebate on contactless transactions (UOB Mighty Pay, Apple Pay, Visa PayWave, NETS FlashPay Auto Top-ups for MRT/LRT, public bus, Comfort & CitiCab and SMRT taxis, ERP and CEPAS-compliant car park charges) | Min. spend $400 |
UOB One | $50 (up to 3.33%) / $100 (up to 3.33%) / $300 (up to 5%) (quarterly flat payout) | Min. spend $500 / $1,000 / $2,000 x 3 months in a quarter Cashback cap $50 / $100 / $300 (quarterly) |
HSBC Advance | 3.5% | Min. spend $2,000 and must be an HSBC Advance customer, otherwise cashback is only 2.5% (for HSBC Advance customers) or 1.5% (for non-HSBC Advance customers) Cashback cap $125 |
Stanchart Spree Credit Card | 2% | Cashback cap $60 |
Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature | 1.6% | |
Amex True Cashback Card | 1.5% | 3% cashback on up to $5,000 spend in first 6 months of card membership |
Stanchart Unlimited Cashback Card | 1.5% | 3% cashback on all foreign currency spend for 1st 3 months of card membership |
OCBC Frank | 3% on first two $50 NETS FlashPay auto top-up | Min. spend $400 (excludes online purchases, entertainment and NETS FlashPay auto top-ups) Cashback cap $60 |
Most generous cashback credit card for Apple Pay: Citi Cashback Card / Citibank SMRT Card / Citi M1 Card
These three cards are offering a straight-up 5% off when you use Apple Pay. No need to worry about mininum spending requirements or cashback caps.
The main drawbacks are that the promotion is only until 31 July 2018 (it’s unknown if they’ll extend the offer), and that it’s not extended to Google Pay and Samsung Pay users.
Citi Cash Back Card
APPLY NOW Get More Details
Card Benefits
Get S$120 Cashback
8% cash back at food & beverage outlets, supermarkets, food & groceries delivery (including Deliveroo, honestbee, RedMart) and Grab rides globally (valid till 6 Apr 2018)
Up to 20.88% fuel savings at Esso and Shell, and 8% cash back at other petrol stations
Total minimum retail spend of S$888/statement month to get 8% cash back, capped at S$25 per category (Dining, Grab rides valid till 6 Apr 2018, Groceries, Petrol). For retail spend less than S$888 and/or other retail spend categories, 0.25% cash back is awarded, no cap
Most generous cashback credit card for contactless payment by smartphone: DBS Live Fresh Card
Using Samsung Pay or Google Pay? You might not be able to take advantage of the above Citibank promotion, but you can get a just-as-good 5% rebate from the DBS Live Fresh Card, which rewards all Visa PayWave transactions made on Apple, Google or Samsung Pay. Or you can just use the card.
Do note the minimum spending requirement of $600. The DBS Live Fresh Card also offers 5% cashback on online shopping and Grab rides though, so if you shop a lot on the internet, are booking air tickets anytime soon or are always Grabbing your way around town, you shouldn’t have any trouble meeting the minimum spending requirements.
And while a maximum cashback cap of $60 is pretty generous, there will soon be restrictions implemented. From 1 June 2018, the maximum cashback cap you can earn with the DBS Live Fresh Card is $20 per month for Visa PayWave transactions, $20 per month for online shopping and Grab rides, and $20 for all other spending.
DBS Live Fresh Card
APPLY NOW Go to site
Card Benefits
5% cashback on online shopping and when you pay using Visa payWave, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay through your Card
Additional 5% cashback for the first 6 months with S$600/month min. spend when signing up within 8 Jan - 31 Mar 2018, Cashback cap at S$60/month
Lazada: 20% off storewide for new shoppers with ‘DBS2017’; Valid till 31 Dec 2018
Expedia: 20% off eligible hotel bookings with ‘DBS10EXP’ at checkout; Valid till 31 Jan 2019, and travel till 30 Apr 2019
Base rate: 0.3% on all other spend
Most generous cashback credit card for NETS FlashPay auto top-up: BOC Family Card
The generous 5% casback the BOC Family Card offers is applicable only to the first four top-ups in a month. As anyone who actually uses NETS FlashPays should know, that’s already plenty.
The $700 minimum monthly spending requirement is quite hefty, but as the card offers a whopping 10% cashback on dining and cinemas, and 5% on supermarkets, online purchases and telco bolls, amongst others, that’s a strong argument to switch to the BOC Family Card for most of your everyday purchases.
Best all-round card for a wide variety of contactless payments: UOB Delight
The UOB Delight is the best card on the market if you’re going to make contactless payments a way of life and use a variety of them.
Their 3% rebate extends to UOB Mighty Pay, Apple Pay, Visa PayWave, NETS FlashPay Auto Top-ups for MRT/LRT, public bus, Comfort & CitiCab and SMRT taxis, ERP and CEPAS-compliant car park charges.
The minimum spending requirement of $400 isn’t terribly high, and the card also offers 8% rebate at Cold Storage, Market Place Jasons, Giant and Guardian, as well as fuel savings at Shell and SPC.
UOB Delight Card
APPLY NOW Go to site
Card Benefits
8% or 3% cash rebate at Cold Storage, Market Place, Jasons, Giant, and Guardian. Minimum spend: S$800/S$400 per month respectively
3% cash rebate on ALL contactless transactions and selected recurring bills. Minimum spend: S$400/month
Cash rebate cap: S$50/month, no cap on SMART$ earned at SMART$ Merchants.
Base rate: 0.3% cashback on spends less than S$400 and on all other spend
Best cashback credit card for high spenders: UOB One Card
The UOB One’s claims of offering up to 5% cashback on everything you spend on is a lofty one—until you realise how complicated their minimum spending requirements are.
If you can consistently spend over $2,000 a month without having to give it too much thought, this card will give you a very decent cashback on everything, contactless payments included. If the rules are too complicated for you, it’s probably not worth the effort, because if you screw up for just one month, you lose your cashback for the entire quarter.
UOB One Card
APPLY NOW Go to site
Card Benefits
Up to 5% cash rebate on all spend for spend above S$2,000/month per quarter (up to 3.33% cash rebate for spend of $500 or $1,000 monthly)
Up to 10% additional SMART$ rebate with UOB SMART$ Rebate Programme
Best cashback credit card for contactless payments with no minimum spending requirement: Standard Chartered Spree Credit Card
This card gets you a decent 2% cashback on contactless and mobile payments, with no minimum spending requirement.
The cashback rate may not be as attractive as some of the others on the list, but hey, at least you won’t be left staring at your credit card statement in dismay after realising you missed the minimum spending requirements by $0.50.
Standard Chartered Spree Credit Card
APPLY NOW Go to site
Card Benefits
Get up to S$120 cashback when you sign up and use your new Credit Card
3% cashback on all online spends in foreign currency and vPost spends
2% cashback on all online spends in local currency, contactless and mobile payments
1% cashback on all other retail transactions
What is your favourite credit card for cashless payments? Share your recommendations in the comments!
Related Articles
The Best Cashback Credit Cards in Singapore 2018
What to Look Out For When Choosing a Cashback Credit Card
Cashback vs Air Miles vs Rewards – Which credit card is best for you?
The post Cashless Payments in Singapore - What are Best Cashback Credit Cards? appeared first on the MoneySmart blog.
MoneySmart.sg helps you maximize your money. Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with our latest news and articles.
Compare and shop for the best deals on Loans, Insurance and Credit Cards on our site now!
More From MoneySmart