CDC Vouchers for Merchants: How Hawkers and Heartland Shops Accept Them

CDC Vouchers are a reliable source of footfall for hawker stalls, provision shops, bakeries, coffee shops and other heartland businesses. But they run on their own app and payout, apart from your usual payment methods, so it helps to know the rules before the lunch queue arrives. Everything below comes from the official CDC Vouchers Scheme website and related government pages as we found them in September 2026. Rules change between tranches, so check the Merchants’ FAQ for the latest before you act on anything here.

What CDC Vouchers are (and current status)

The Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers Scheme gives every Singaporean household digital vouchers to spend at participating hawkers, heartland merchants and supermarkets. The People’s Association (PA) issues the vouchers, the five CDCs run merchant onboarding, and residents claim through the RedeemSG platform. Residents don’t need an app. They get a voucher link on their verified mobile number and show a QR code at the counter.

As of September 2026, the official site lists two 2026 tranches:

Tranche	Value per household	Split	Claim and spend by
CDC Vouchers 2026 (January)	$300	$150 hawkers and heartland merchants, $150 supermarkets	31 December 2026
CDC Vouchers 2026 (June)	$500	$250 hawkers and heartland merchants, $250 supermarkets	31 December 2027

For a hawker or heartland shop, the part that matters is the hawkers and heartland merchants portion. The supermarket half can only be spent at participating supermarkets, so a customer at your stall can only use vouchers from the heartland portion. The June 2026 tranche runs until the end of 2027, so expect customers to keep using vouchers well into next year. We found no official announcement of a tranche after June 2026. If you are reading this later, check the official homepage for new tranches rather than relying on these dates.

Residents’ vouchers come in $2, $5 and $10 denominations, and a resident can stack up to 15 vouchers in a single QR code, according to the Residents’ FAQ. In practice, the total a customer can pay with vouchers comes in $2 steps.

Who can accept them

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth has set out the merchant eligibility approach. The scheme aims to onboard “hawkers and merchants in HDB heartlands, such as those in the NEA-managed centres and HDB heartlands, including shops which offer daily goods or services.” Where there are few or no heartland merchants near a residential area, it has also onboarded other small businesses that provide what residents need, case by case.

In practice, that means:

• Hawker stalls in NEA-managed hawker centres and markets are the core group.
• Heartland shops in HDB estates that sell daily goods or services are eligible. Think coffee shop stalls, provision shops, bakeries, confectioneries, hardware and household shops, and neighbourhood service businesses.
• Supermarkets take part through their own portion of the vouchers. This came in when the scheme was expanded in 2023. The supermarket half is ring-fenced for participating supermarkets, and the heartland half for hawkers and heartland merchants.

Shopping mall outlets and businesses outside HDB estates are not the target group. They are considered case by case only where residents have no heartland options nearby. If you’re unsure whether your shop qualifies, ask your regional CDC before investing in signage or staff training. Don’t assume either way.

How to register as a merchant

If you were onboarded in an earlier tranche, you don’t need to register again. The Merchants’ FAQ confirms there is no need to re-register for the 2026 scheme once you’ve been onboarded. Check that your shop code still works and that your payout details are current.

New merchants register through the Get Started page for merchants:

1. Find your CDC district. Use the postal code locator linked from the merchant page to see which of the five CDCs (Central Singapore, North East, North West, South East or South West) covers your shop.
2. Submit your CDC’s online registration form. Each CDC has its own form, linked from the official page. Have your business details, UEN and payout details ready.
3. Wait for contact. The FAQ says an officer will contact you within 14 calendar days. If you hear nothing after 14 days, contact your CDC directly.
4. Complete onboarding with a CDC Ambassador. The Ambassador helps you sign up, gives you a shop code for each branch and walks you through the app.
5. Display the decal. The merchant terms require you to display the CDC Vouchers decal prominently at your shop front once you receive it.

Two practical points. First, make sure the bank account or PayNow proxy (UEN, mobile number or NRIC) you give the Ambassador is accurate, because that’s where your payouts go. Second, only deal with genuine officers. The FAQ says CDC Ambassadors wear an official lanyard and CDC Vouchers badge, and IMDA Digital Ambassadors wear their uniform. Anyone else asking for your banking details should be treated with suspicion.

Redeeming vouchers step by step

This is the part that trips up new stalls. For CDC Vouchers, you scan the customer, not the other way round. The customer doesn’t scan your SGQR or PayNow QR. Instead:

1. Set up the app once. Download the RedeemSG Merchant app from the App Store or Google Play, log in with your mobile number and enter your shop code. The official merchant app guide covers this. iPhone users should have their Apple ID ready to download it.
2. Tell the customer the total. Because vouchers come in $2, $5 and $10 amounts, work out how much of the bill the customer wants to pay by voucher and how much by cash or another method.
3. The customer opens their voucher link and shows the QR code on their phone (or a printout).
4. Scan the QR code with the RedeemSG Merchant app and confirm the transaction.
5. Check for the success confirmation. The app shows that the transaction went through, and the customer’s QR code updates to “Redeemed” with your shop name and the time.
6. Collect any balance by cash, PayNow, card or whatever you accept. If the voucher value is more than the bill, you can’t give change.

Staff can use their own phones. The FAQ says they can download the app and log in with the same shop code. Each branch gets its own shop code, so transactions stay separate by outlet. Use the app’s Transactions section to see scanned vouchers and Payouts to track money into your account.

Under the merchant terms, you must accept all vouchers presented by voucher holders and must not limit the days or hours you accept them. Putting up a “no CDC Vouchers during lunch” sign is not allowed.

Getting reimbursed

Getting paid is simple. The merchant terms state that reimbursement for redeemed vouchers is made one day after the redemption is recorded. The scheme advertises this as “next-day payout”. The money goes to the bank account or PayNow proxy you gave during onboarding.

The official merchant pages also say there are no fees or commissions for accepting CDC Vouchers. You don’t handle physical vouchers either, so there’s nothing to count, bundle or deposit.

A few habits keep payouts easy to match:

• Check the Payouts screen weekly against your own voucher sales records (see the next section). A mismatch is much easier to trace within days than within months.
• Keep your bank details current. If you change bank accounts or your PayNow proxy, update your CDC before the old account closes.
• Know which account receives voucher money. If voucher payouts land in the same account as your PayNow and card settlements, label them in your bookkeeping so they are not mistaken for other payments.

Recording voucher sales in your POS

Redemption happens in the RedeemSG Merchant app, whatever POS you use. But the way you record those sales in your POS makes a big difference to your end-of-day numbers.

Our recommendation is to set up a separate tender (payment) type for CDC Vouchers, for example “CDC Voucher”. Don’t key voucher sales in as cash or lump them under “Others”. When a customer pays $10 by voucher and $2.50 in cash, record it as a split payment: $10 to the CDC Voucher tender and $2.50 to cash. Here’s why:

• Your cash drawer balances. If voucher sales are rung up as cash, your drawer will always look short by the voucher amount.
• Payout reconciliation is quick. Your POS daily total for the CDC Voucher tender should match what the RedeemSG app shows for that day and the payout that arrives the next day.
• You see the real effect. Voucher sales by day and by hour show how much of your trade the scheme brings, which helps with staffing and prep while a tranche is running.
• Bookkeeping is cleaner. Your accountant can match voucher payouts against a specific sales line instead of guessing.

Most POS systems let you add a custom payment method and split a bill across tenders. Check that yours does before a tranche starts. ChaChaCha supports split payments and automated reconciliation for the methods it takes, and its reports give you the daily totals to check against the RedeemSG app. If you run a stall and are choosing between a full POS and just a QR code, our comparison of hawker POS vs SGQR covers the trade-offs, and the hawker POS page shows how a small-stall setup works.

Common mistakes

• Asking the customer to scan your SGQR. CDC Vouchers aren’t paid through SGQR or PayNow. You scan the customer’s voucher QR with the RedeemSG Merchant app.
• Giving change in cash. The official FAQ says merchants can’t give change for vouchers, and the terms say vouchers can’t be exchanged for cash. Help customers pick a voucher amount that doesn’t go over the bill and top up the rest.
• Accepting vouchers for excluded items. Vouchers can’t be used for lottery products, petrol, diesel, alcohol or cigarettes. If you sell beer or cigarettes, make sure staff know to take another payment method for those items.
• Refusing vouchers at busy times. The terms require you to accept all vouchers presented and not restrict days or hours.
• Not checking the success screen. Always wait for the confirmation in the app before handing over the food or goods. The customer’s QR should show “Redeemed” with your shop name.
• Mixing voucher sales into cash. This is the most common cause of a “short” cash drawer. Use a separate tender type.
• Letting payout details go stale. A closed bank account means delayed payouts. Update your CDC early.
• Trusting unverified “ambassadors”. Genuine CDC and IMDA officers can be identified by their official lanyard, badge or uniform. Contact your CDC if in doubt.

Disputes with customers are your responsibility. The terms say PA will not resolve disputes between merchants and voucher holders, so a clear, polite process at the counter saves trouble.

Where to check for updates

Each tranche can bring new dates, amounts or rules. Bookmark these official pages:

• Merchants’ FAQ for registration, payouts and app questions
• Terms and Conditions for participating merchants for what you have agreed to
• Guide to the RedeemSG Merchant app for step-by-step app instructions

If you’re setting up a new stall or heartland shop and want voucher sales, PayNow, cards and cash to show up cleanly in one set of daily reports, talk to us about a setup that suits your counter.