On the last week of the Great Singapore Sale (GSS), Rachel and I went shopping with a MasterCard PayPass card – a prepaid stored value MasterCard that also has Tap & Go and EZ-Link functions.
GSS Shopping at Haji Lane!
We had S$200 prepaid value in the card and were on a mission to attempt shopping for one full evening without swiping any other cards or using any cash for payments.
We decided to visit Haji Lane, following one of four specially curated GSS shopping trails which MasterCard had designed for shoppers. Visit pricelesssingapore.com/gss to find out more about the trails (note that you have to be a Priceless Singapore member to access the trail pages).
About Haji Lane via YourSingapore:
Once an empty street of pre-war shophouses, Haji Lane has been given a new lease of life by local designers and young entrepreneurs who have set up their quaint boutiques proffering fashionable wear and products boasting made-in-Singapore designs. Here, you will find excellent vintage shops selling an array of contemporary, quirky garments and accessories as well as local boutiques by up-and-coming designers that have been refurbished in their own unique style. Just a street away, you’ll find textile shops that have been in business since the 1950s! There’s a raw, energetic vibe that’s worlds away from the polished international stores which makes Haji Lane so undeniably fascinating.
Rachel and I were looking for hidden gems in Haji Lane:
Threadbare & Squirrel which has a nice collection of assorted designer wears, curated from around the world
Second floor of Threadbare & Squirrel
Haji Lane!
Rachel entering one of the shops with Asher
modparade – they had an exclusive GSS tie-up with MasterCard
Spoilmarket which sells assorted trinkets and small gifts
tangers – fashion apparel
TokyoBike – bicycle shop
Rachel trying out one of their beautiful bikes
Green Poppies – this shop had an exclusive GSS tie-up with MasterCard too
soon lee – local designer label, exclusive at Haji Lane
At the end of the day, Rachel bought a skirt (S$49), a cardigan (S$59) and a necklace (S$19) which left us with S$73:
Rachel in her new skirt, cardigan and necklace, all bought at Haji Lane
We then headed to Bugis Junction for dinner at Platypus Kitchen. The dinner bill came up to S$60+ for the two of us and Asher, leaving S$6.50 in the our MasterCard PayPass card. Mission accomplished!
Lemonade, soup and salad for set meal top-up
Mushroom pasta with truffles shavings
Sea salt caramel dessert
The entire experience of shopping with the MasterCard PayPass prepaid card was pretty seamless. As the card can be accepted in any stores that take MasterCard payment, it is accepted nearly everywhere in Singapore.
I enjoyed shopping with the card, but there are still some limitations to the technology and user experience which I hope MasterCard will be able to iron out soon.
Note that the card holds two prepaid value – as it is also an EZ-link card, there is also the EZ-link value which is not the same as the MasterCard value. For instance, when I use the card, if the merchant mistakenly use the EZ-link payment terminal instead of the MasterCard payment terminal, they will tell me that my card has zero value as I did not top up anything for the EZ-link value. This is despite the fact that there is S$200 in value on MasterCard.
Also, it is easy to confuse card “activation” and card “registration” on the official website. Activation refers to registering the card for payment, based on the prepaid value given if you received it as a gift card. Registration refers to registering your personal particulars with the card so you can top up the card and continue using it as a MasterCard when you exhaust the initial prepaid value. As of writing, I have been unable to register two MasterCard PayPass cards. I have tried registering on multiple web browsers on both Mac and PC, but to no avail. When I wrote in to highlight the problem, I was alerted of a technical glitch on the website and was asked to register via mobile. I gave up on registering the cards. Let me know if you have better luck.
Last of all, note that the MasterCard value cannot be taken out in cash until the expiry date stated on the front of the card. Even so, there is a S$5 administration fee and you have to cash out within a limited period. Do note that the card cannot be used for making payment if the bill amount is larger than the value in your card – eg. you cannot pay for a S$5.10 item if you have only S$5.00 in your card. Hence you need to plan your expenses carefully to use it to the very last cent.
Rachel and I managed to exhaust one card to just 10 cents in value and the other card to S$6.50.
I am sharing all these details here as it took me a while to figure all these out and I hope the information would help others to enjoy a more seamless experience shopping with the MasterCard PayPass Card. Happy shopping. 
To get a MasterCard PayPass Card, please visit the official website for more details.
