Apps For Hawkers and Dining (in 2026)

Eating out at hawker centres and local eateries is a way of life for many Singaporeans, but many such stalls do not accept credit card payments. With our country’s push for cashless payments over the years, the widespread adoption of payment via QR codes has made it possible to pay with our cards and earn rewards.

While apps like XNAP and Amex Pay have called it quits, there are still a few ways to squeeze some rewards when dining out at hawker centres and smaller eateries that may not accept credit cards. Check this post out for dining places that accept credit cards.

Identifying QR Codes

First, we need to be able to identify QR codes that make it possible for us to pay hawker stalls with our credit card. Singapore has this thing called SGQR where a particular vendor can accept payment from different wallet apps with just one single QR code. However, this does not mean that every single wallet app will be supported just because an SGQR code is on display because the onus is on each vendor to tie up with different wallet apps for payment acceptance.

Based on my observations, there are generally two types of SGQR codes accepted at eateries across Singapore. I’m going to call them Hawker and Non-Hawker QRs:

Hawker SGQR (NETS QR)	Non-Hawker SGQR
Supports a variety of wallet apps but not PayNow	Supports bank apps, PayNow, and any other wallet apps the business has tied up with

Without getting too much into the weeds, Hawker SGQR (or NETS QR) is a solution rolled out by NETS to help hawkers accept payments. NETS has tied up with a variety of wallet apps so that hawkers do not have to individually deal with each wallet app to accept payments.

Non-Hawker SGQR codes by default can only accept payment via PayNow (which includes every bank app that supports PayNow transfers). If the eatery chooses to accept ShopeePay, it will appear on their SGQR (as seen in Non-Hawker SGQR in the table).

Summary

App/Card	Reward	Compatibility	Payment
MariBank	1% cashback	Hawker QR	Debited from MariBank Savings Account
ShopeePay	1% coins for Hawker QR (5% for users under 25 years old)	Hawker QR	Top up with card and pay from balance
FavePay	Store-dependent	Non-Hawker QR (with FavePay logo)	Charged to linked card
Grab	0.3% on top-up	Hawker QR Non-Hawker QR (with Grab logo)	Top up with card and pay from balance
Google Pay	Randomised cashback	Non-Hawker QR (with PayNow logo) FavePay QR	Pay with linked bank account
Kris+	Store-dependent	Non-Hawker QR (with Kris+ logo)	Charged to linked card
ShopBack	Store-dependent	Non-Hawker QR (with ShopBack logo)	Charged to linked card
foodpanda	Card Rewards	Food stalls that tie up with foodpanda	Charged to linked card

MariBank: earn 1% cashback on transactions at least S$3 and above

Works with: Hawker SGQR

From 1st to 31st August 2026, MariBank is offering 1% cashback on NETS SGQR payments for eligible transactions that are at least S$3 and above.

This is limited to the first 100,000 transactions and capped at S$50 cashback per day for each Mari Savings Account holder.

See the terms and conditions here.

ShopeePay: earn 1% coins (5% for those under age 25)

Works with: Hawker SGQR

ShopeePay is another way to pay Hawker QRs and the wallet app (which is found within the Shopee app) has been offering 1% rebates in the form of Shopee coins. For instance, a S$3 transaction will get you 3 Shopee coins.

You can use the coins to offset both Shopee purchases and ShopeePay transactions at a value of 1 cent per coin.

Users under 25 years old will get 5% rebates in the form of Shopee coins.

GooglePay: earn randomised cashback

Works with: Non-Hawker SGQR

Google Pay can get you virtual scratch cards with randomised rewards. The amount of rewards is entirely luck based, but the chance of getting anywhere between a few cents to a few dollars is surely better than nothing.

For PayNow codes belonging to corporate accounts, you just need a payment of at least S$3 for a scratch card to be given. Personal PayNow codes, as hawkers tend to have, require S$10 and that the recipient also be registered with Google Pay (they often are not).

Current sign up reward for Google Pay: get S$3 when you use my referral link and make a transaction of at least S$10.

Shopback: earn card rewards and return cashback

Works with: Non-Hawker SGQR with ShopBack logo or ShopBack’s own QR

Shopback is not one of the logos under the SGQR code found at hawker centres, but the company has been hard at work. Their payment method is popping up across food courts and coffeeshops, and whenever I see one of the QR codes they are usually the best payment option.

Shopback allows you to use your credit card and each transaction is counted as an online transaction. The wallet app also preserves the MCC of the place you are eating at, and hence a hawker centre transaction would count as 5814 as well as online for your credit card. You will earn both rewards from the card you choose to use and any return cashback offered on the Shopback app.

FavePay

Works with: Non-Hawker SGQR with FavePay logo or FavePay’s own QR

FavePay works similarly to ShopBack, though from my experience it is a lot less common than ShopBack. Nonetheless, there are some eating places like a few Subway outlets that accept it, so it’s yet another option to choose from.

Use FAVEJUNYI2 for a sign-up reward for your first purchase.

Kris+: earn bonus miles (which can also be used as cash rebates)

Works with: Non-Hawker SGQR with Kris+ logo or Kris+’s own QR

It’s also the only game in town if you want to earn extra miles instead of cashback, and just like Shopback, Kris+ transactions count as online, and it preserves the underlying MCC of the place you are paying at. As usual, use a card that would be good for dining MCCs.

foodpanda: earn card rewards and use foodpanda vouchers

Works with: food places that have tied up with foodpanda

foodpanda isn’t technically a wallet app, but you can order hawker food pick-ups via the app and charge it to your credit card. DBS yuu gives its princely 17.5% rebate rate on foodpanda orders, so it’s definitely a great card to use for this purpose.

Your food stall of choice has to tie up with foodpanda, of course, and there tends to be a markup on the prices since they have to pay foodpanda. But if you include credit card rewards and foodpanda vouchers, it may be cheaper overall to order via the app despite the higher prices. My neighbourhood fish soup stall sells a bowl for S$6.50 but I got it for S$6.48 after using a 10% discount voucher on my foodpanda app, and I still get my card rewards.

So do a little comparison first: some stalls make sense buying through the app, others don’t.

Use this link to sign up for a sign-up reward.

Grab

Works with: Hawker SGQR, Non-Hawker SGQR with Grab logo, Grab’s own QR, or food places that have tied up with Grab

There are a couple of ways to pay with Grab. One, you can scan a supported QR code to make payment from your Grab wallet. Two, you can use Grab’s Dine Out function to pay your bill and charge it to your card for rewards and further discount from the app.

For the first type of payments, you will need to first top up your Grab wallet. Only UOB Absolute gives rewards for this and you can get 0.3% cashback when you use the card to top up your Grab wallet. After payment, Grab also gives a randomised number of Grab points.

For the second type of payment, your eatery must first tie up with Grab to accept such payments. These are mostly cafes and restaurants, but I have also seen a few hawker stalls accepting such payments. You can pay with cards linked to your Grab app and such transactions should earn rewards.

For restaurants

Check this post out for ways to pay at restaurants:

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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.

He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.

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