AID: Many like Ms Sim Siew Ching have already given cash. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
Money can be used to buy supplies and equipment that are needed most urgently, and to dispatch them to the right places, they added.
The Singapore Red Cross is not accepting any donations in kind.
Having cash allows it to better meet the needs of victims, said secretary-general Christopher Chua.
'It will enable us to buy items that the survivors need.
'The needs on the ground may differ at different stages of the aid effort,' he said.
The Red Cross hopes to raise $500,000, and already, it has received $50,000 through unsolicited donations.
Both the Salvation Army and Mercy Relief are also collecting cash only, and have set targets of $250,000 and $300,000 respectively.
The money will go towards buying supplies such as tents, medicine, water-purification tablets and food items.
Mercy Relief hopes to send out its first shipment of aid supplies this weekend.