Crunchtime for cash at Singapore’s famed hawker food stalls

A customer uses the GrabPay app to order food in a cashless transaction at the Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee food stall at the Hong Lim Market and Food Centre in Singapore. — Bloomberg

Singapore officials trying to digitise the economy are targeting a tricky group of holdouts: elderly vendors who run the country’s famed hawker stalls.

For generations of Singaporeans, stalls selling popular street food have been an indispensable part of local life. Even amid unbearable midday heat, these open-air complexes draw office professionals, families and retirees with favorites such as chicken rice, prawn noodles and the nasi lemak coconut rice dish.