Why do so many stores at Singapore prefer MasterCard?

8/14/2016 9:51:44 PM

Your assumption is wrong: the stores are unhappy with being offered a credit card (which they either don’t accept, or have to pay fees for), not the fact that it’s specifically a Visa.

In my experience, and this is from living in Singapore for 8 years, acceptance of Visa and MasterCard is near-identical. American Express is much less common (it has higher fees) and Diners Club is for tourists only.

If your purchases are small enough to pay with EZLink, they’re probably too small for the merchant to want to bother with credit cards. Not a few hawker stalls, corner shops etc operate on a cash-only basis so they can underreport their income and pay less taxes.

The “We prefer MasterCard” is a marketing thing, restaurants etc that accept it get freebies (bill holders etc) and discounts if they achieve a certain volume of transactions.

Singaporean culture is also noticeably more brusque than (say) Japan or Thailand: instead of grovelling apologies, you’ll just be told “No lah, Visa cannot”. No offence is intended or taken.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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