ELECTRONIC payments were slow to take off among small heartland retailers, but after a Covid-era government drive, 93 per cent of heartland enterprises had adopted these by end-2022.

Such digital payments are often enabled by QR codes such as SGQR and PayNow QR, which support payments from PayNow, DBS PayLah! and other banks’ e-wallets, with funds going directly into merchants’ bank accounts.

This e-payment revolution has won over many micro-retailers – but still has its share of teething issues.