Not getting your DBS PayLah $3 Saturday? Here’s why and how to solve it.

I woke with a start. 732am. Gosh, it was Saturday. I struggled to pull myself out of bed.

I wanted to treat myself to some bak chor mee at the hawker centre, for just $2.50 instead of the usual $5.50, with the DBS PayLah rebate. 

I desperately brushed my teeth, hoping that I would beat that Aunty to the queue.

I stood on the queue, looking at the PayLah app.

Okay, there wasn’t the notification yet that the 75,000 limit had been reached.

Finally, I got to order. Scan the QR, and then ….

What?!

Why wasn’t it working? Why wasn’t there the pop up about the rebate?

I had been too late.

It was just 751am, and it had all been redeemed.

Here’s the TLDR for the DBS PayLah $3.

1. Every Saturday – Up to SGD 3 cashback for the first 75,000 people who scan to pay with PayLah! at over 22,000 participating heartland shops, wet markets and hawker stalls. Participating heartland shops and wet market stalls will display the ‘POSB Support Our Heartland Shops’ wobbler. Hawker stalls will display the PayLah! Scan to Pay sticker and have to be SGQR code-enabled.
2. Any day of each month – SGD 3 off eggs and SGD 3 off rice at any Sheng Siong supermarket for consumers who use POSB credit/debit cards to purchase the essential items, capped at the first 50,000 redemptions for each essential item per month.

But for now, yes, sleepyhead, you should wake up at 7am to get that $3 subsidised hawker meal.

And yes, in the first few weeks of 2023, when it was first introduced, it was easy to get. But not now.

During the early weeks of February 2023, whilst everyone was still recovering from the post-CNY food coma on Friday mornings, I diligently ran (yes ran! And sometimes rode my bicycle to make it faster) to get the $3 off.

I reached at 730am, but still got the rebate.

Not now though.

For the past 2 weeks (in early October 2024), whenever I’ve ordered my favourite bak chor mee, and gone into my history, hoping for that little cashback that will make the $5.50 meepok just a little cheaper, it’s not happened.

That’s when I realised.

Now people know.

Yes, even the boomers.

I’m not kidding.

Just last week, I was queuing up when I saw this balding uncle take out his phone, and scan the QR at the hawker store.

The worst thing?

He was in front of me.

Damn!

Lest this degrades to a catfight over $3, this article hopes to help you ease a little about what you need to do to get that $3 cashback, but more importantly, whether it’s worth it.

Firstly, DBS have really done their marketing well.

And that means that you’ve to be a little more kiasu, and get there early.

Arrive much earlier, probably latest by 730am.

Is it worth it?

I think it is.

Waking up to the sound of crows (not lovely chirping birds), at 6am, just to get that cashback, has been something I’ve looked forward to every Saturday morning.

It’s a little perk me up.

But that might not be the case for you. You might not be a morning person, and that means you might find it a little ridiculous to wake up early just to get that $3.

Then don’t.

How do you know you’ve gotten it?

Usually, after you pay, the screen will ding, and then you will receive an in-app notification saying ‘Congratulations! You’ve got $3 Cashback!”

But if you don’t see it, then you will have to go to the list of transactions under ‘History’ and then see if you’ve managed to get the cashback, as seen below.

Go to the history to check

Last Friday, on 20 April 2024, I scanned at 630am, fully expecting the $3 cashback to show up. But it didn’t.

Not till 950am, even though the transaction was at 630am.

I don’t blame DBS. Not with the huge horde of the public.

My only advice is that you be patient. It will probably go through, but show up later. All you need to do is to go to the history section to check.

Buy a proper meal that’s above $5 first, and not some cheap coffee

Treat yourself to something great this Friday. Don’t buy some cheap coffee, because you are only entitled to the cashback on your first transaction.

So if you buy a $1.50 coffee, and try to buy your next meal at $4, you will only get the $1.50 cashback (if you’re the first 100,000).

Do we really have to resort to this?

You might think this sounds crazy. That 100,000 meals are redeemed before 7:30am.

But it’s a sign of the times.

Of rapid inflation, and people struggling to make ends meet.

People trying to get a little discount here, and racing to get another discount there.

And everyone trying their best to survive.

One tip?

Reduce your standard of living, rather than your standard of life.

It’s something I’ve learnt from an entrepreneur who’s lived in many different countries over COVID, on less than $500 a month.

Even in Singapore, you can do the same. You may not have to spend that $18 on a fancy restaurant meal, but you could spend $8 on some reduced-to-clear cooked food items from Cold Storage at 8pm.

It goes much further.

It’s just about whether you’re living a life to fit societal expectations, or your own expectations.

Think about it. When you spend that $18, is it because you want to, or because you need to?

It’s not whether you can afford it, but whether it’s worth affording.

The more you spend, the more you need to earn.

It sounds logical, but not many of us actually take this into account.

I confess.

I take home $800 per month from my business. You may yell,

Only?!

Yup. Only.

How do you survive?

Whatever my business earns, that’s all I take out.

Despite taking home all of $800 per month from business each month, I don’t find myself starving.

It’s just a matter of readjusting my expectations of life, and recognising that a good life doesn’t require:

1. Spending $18 on restaurants 5 times a month,
2. Spending on fancy coffees at $6 per latte at Starbucks,
3. Taking Grab or taxis (honestly, are we that tied for time?)
4. Going for $1400 flights to a faraway country

It’s perhaps just recognising,

You don’t have to spend money to be happy.

And if you do spend, then make sure it’s something you want to spend on, rather than something you need to.