New website lists participating hawkers, merchants where households can redeem CDC vouchers

SINGAPORE — In order to use the vouchers issued by the Community Development Councils (CDCs), Singaporean households may search for hawkers and merchants in their housing estates more easily through a website called CDC Vouchers Merchants Go Where.

In a press release on Thursday (Dec 23), the five CDCs here — along with the People’s Association — said that the initiative “makes it easier” for the public to support neighbourhood businesses with the vouchers that they had claimed.

On the website, members of the public will be able to key in their postal code or street name online to find vendors “nearest to them”, they added. The website, which the agencies launched on Thursday in partnership with Government Technology Agency, will also be updated periodically.

The CDC vouchers scheme was launched on Dec 13 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Jurong Spring Community Club. The nationwide scheme will see some 1.3 million households here receive S$100 in digital vouchers.

On Thursday, the councils said that the scheme “aims to thank Singaporeans for their sense of solidarity during the pandemic and to support hawkers and heartland merchants”.

“This complements efforts to publicise participating hawkers and heartland merchants in the S$130 million CDC vouchers scheme through decals, banners displayed where clusters of participating businesses are located, and on social media.”

CDC ambassadors as well as digital ambassadors from the SG Digital Office have been on the ground to invite and guide hawkers and merchants to join the scheme through the download and use of the RedeemSG Merchant mobile application.

“This way, residents have more choices of merchants to spend their vouchers at, and more merchants get to benefit from the scheme,” the CDCs said.

“The RedeemSG system will allow hawkers and heartland merchants to easily accept government-issued digital vouchers and receive faster payouts.”

Ms Low Yen Ling, chairman of the Mayor’s Committee and Mayor of South West District, said that the authorities are “heartened by the keen response from Singaporeans who have claimed their CDC vouchers”.

“In the last 10 days since the launch, more than 830,000, or about two-thirds, of Singaporean households have claimed their vouchers, and above S$7 million worth of vouchers have been spent,” she disclosed.

“The number of participating hawkers and heartland merchants continues to grow, with more than 11,000 outlets to date."

Over 82 per cent of these businesses have received at least one CDC vouchers transaction, she noted.

Ms Low added that with the new webpage, it will be easier for the public to find the scheme’s participating hawkers and merchants nearest to them.

“We hope this will make it even more convenient for them to use the vouchers, and further spur spending in the heartlands in the upcoming festive season…. Let’s continue to support our heartland merchants and hawkers with our CDC vouchers and appreciate the vital role they play in our housing estates and Singapore culture,” she said.