In a bid to digitalise the nation, the Government is giving payouts to eligible businesses in the food and beverage and retail sectors, such as stallholders in hawker centres and wet markets, if they adopt PayNow Corporate and e-invoicing, as well as business process or e-commerce solutions (F&B, retail firms may get up to $10k to go digital, May 27).

While the monetary incentive is excellent to encourage a younger generation of hawkers to set up e-payment systems, older hawkers who are not well-versed in technology may not be as willing to adapt to new systems. And according to the National Environment Agency, the median age of hawkers here is 60.

Another obstacle could be the damp environment of wet markets, which makes it difficult to install cashless systems or put up QR codes.

Apart from handing out generous cash payouts, more ground-level measures are required to ensure successful digitalisation. I suggest publishing a simplified guide on how to install cashless systems, and providing a hotline for hawkers who face difficulties in collecting payment or tracing payment records.

Lao Jing Hui