I spent four days in Singapore without cash—here’s how I did it

I just spent four days in Singapore with only SGD5.66 cash in my wallet throughout my stay. More accurately, I just spent four days in Singapore with only P250 cash in my wallet. I didn’t even bother to convert my bills to the local currency.

All I needed to survive and enjoy The Lion City was my digital wallet, GCash, and the global digital payment platform Alipay+. From taking taxi rides and enjoying long, scrumptious meals to spending a relaxing day at the S.E.A. Aquarium and Gardens by the Bay, I had little use for cash.

It was a completely new way to travel for me, and I was all for it.

Scan and pay 

At first, knowing how un-techie I was, I was apprehensive about going around Singapore without any kind of physical financial crutch. What if the system had a glitch, and I couldn’t explain the issue to a frustrated vendor?

But I was with young millennials and expert Gen Zers who could navigate their digital wallets like a boss, and by the end of our trip, I had become quite adept myself. After just half a day of traipsing around Singapore, I was buying tickets, meals, and pasalubong, and paying for ComfortDelGro Taxi rides with GCash, enabled by Alipay+, like a local.

I just had to remember that I needed an active Philippine number if I was using an e-sim. I also made sure to turn on the push notifications and location services on my GCash app.

“I’m paying via Alipay,” I told vendors and taxi drivers. Hearing this, they whipped out their hand-held payment terminals.

I quickly learned that there are two ways to pay using GCash through Alipay+. After selecting the “Pay abroad with Alipay+” option on my GCash app, I could generate a QR code and have the vendor scan it on their machine. Or I could scan the vendor’s QR code on my GCash app. Both will produce the same result: a quick and stress-free fund transfer. Even vending machines and convenience stores are equipped for payments via Alipay+.

Alipay+ rewards

If you look closely at your GCash interface, you’ll see an icon for A+ Rewards. See, Alipay+ isn’t just a global payment platform. It also provides shoppers and diners with vouchers and discounts from partner merchants. Tapping the A+ Rewards icon and selecting the country of choice on your GCash app will show you which rewards are up for grabs when you pay via Alipay+.

We found this out during our visit to the S.E.A. Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa, where we bought our tickets using GCash through Alipay+.

The excitement was real as we made our way to one of the world’s largest aquariums. Among giddy school kids on their field trips and awestruck tourists, we got to walk through a fiberglass tunnel surrounded by all sorts of marine life. The sea jellies gallery was definitely my favorite—there were color-changing jellyfish, jellyfish resembling flashes of white light, and tiny ones that looked like plushies.

At the end of our tour, we hit the souvenir shop. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the S.E.A. Aquarium is part of the A+ Rewards program. I grabbed some killer whale and dolphin plushies as pasalubong for my kids, who are huge fans of marine mammals. After selecting the S.E.A. Aquarium voucher from the A+ Rewards icon on my GCash app, I scored an SGD4 discount on my purchase.

What a way to wrap up our aquarium tour—with a digital payment platform that gives discounts.

But S.E.A. Aquarium isn’t the only merchant in Singapore that gives discounts to GCash users. There’s also iJooz, a smart vending machine that squeezes out 100-percent fresh orange juice; ComfortDelGro Taxi, the leading point-to-point taxi service in Singapore; and that paradise of beauty products, Sephora, in the premium destination mall ION Orchard; and many more.

Retail and dining therapy

Among the many things I learned during my trip, one tip stood out: bring an extra piece of luggage and keep it empty. That’s where you’ll put everything you buy during your trip.

Because we knew a shopping spree required the utmost concentration and a commitment of marathon levels, we left that for our last day in Singapore. Before then, we learned more about the tiny island country from the merchants and establishments where we could pay with GCash through Alipay+.

Did you know that Singapore’s National Gallery, housed in the same building where the Supreme Court used to be, has numerous original Filipino art hanging on its walls? Fernando Amorsolo has several, including one of his masterpieces, Marketplace During the Occupation. It pleased us to know that Singaporeans, and even tourists from around the world, get a chance to learn about our country’s history and culture.

Equally eye-opening was our morning at Gardens by the Bay, where we bought our tickets using GCash enabled by Alipay+. The Flower Dome was an explosion of color and floral aromas, ending with a beautiful impressionist exhibition featuring Claude Monet. Following this, we went into Cloud Forest, where, along with other Filipinos exclaiming, “Ay, ang lamig,” we climbed to the top of the “mountain forest” and watched as the seven-story-high waterfall fell gracefully.

Now, throughout our trip, being Filipinos, we were constantly on the lookout for gastronomic sustenance. Everywhere we looked, there were restaurants (stand-alone and within hotels) that accept Alipay+ so we could pay with GCash.

We never ate in the same restaurant twice, which allowed us to find more places to enjoy: Jumbo Seafood at Riverside Point overlooking Clark Quay, Imperial Treasure in ION Orchard, Happy Lamb Hotpot on Orchard Road, and Maxwell Food Centre in Chinatown, where one of the hawker stalls has a Michelin star.

All that eating had the effect we predicted: it got us ready to do some serious shopping. Beyond dining establishments and hotels, Alipay+ is also partnered with multiple retail outlets. Aside from Sephora, among many others, there are also Zara and Love Bonito, and it got our little hearts excited. Those empty pieces of luggage I mentioned? They were full by the time we breezed through immigration at Changi Airport on our way home.

Speaking of the airport, Changi—with merchants who are partnered with Alipay+—is set up perfectly for last-minute pasalubong shopping. We couldn’t ignore the messages from colleagues, friends, and family members asking for tins of Garret popcorn, bags of Bacha coffee, packs of Irvins Salted Egg noodles, and boxes of Bee Cheng Hiang EZ Pork Jerky. All these went into the extra luggage.

Spending four days in Singapore without paying a cent in cash was eye-opening for me. It was a huge convenience to pay for everything with GCash Global Pay, especially for someone like me who doesn’t like lugging around a wallet heavy with coins and bills. Convenience aside, it was also economical. GCash Global Pay provides low foreign exchange rates, charges zero service fees, and—let me say it again because it’s my favorite feature—gives exclusive deals and promos.

This is a new way of traveling through Singapore, and it’s available to any GCash user.

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Editor's note: BrandedUp is designed to provide you with insightful, inspiring, and educational content created by PhilSTAR L!fe in collaboration with brands like Gcash.