The popular $3 cashback for everyday purchases and hawker meals in the heartlands when you use DBS Paylah! returns as part of our SG60 celebrations this year. This will be the third year the promotion has returned, with some tweaks. Having already subsidised over $14 million through this cashback campaign in 2024, DBS/POSB wants to help even more customers save in 2025.
Every Saturday, starting from this Saturday, 12 July to 27 September 2025, you can enjoy 100% cashback (up to $3) when you scan to pay with DBS Paylah! at over 22,000 heartland shops, wet markets, and hawker stalls across the island. Eligible transactions begin at 6am on Saturdays and are limited to the first 160,000 users each Saturday.
(Originally supposed to start at 8am, DBS announced the change to the start time on 17 July.)
Source: DBS/POSB
What Is DBS Paylah!
DBS Paylah! is a mobile app that allows users to send and receive funds, and you can use the Scan and Pay function at merchants who accept SGQR (with the Paylah! logo) as well as merchants that accept NETS QR, FavePay QR, PayNow QR. There are also other features like booking rides, ordering food delivery, and buying movie and concert tickets.
Read Also: SGQR Code: Complete Guide To All The Apps And Wallets That You Can Use
Singaporeans and Permanent Residents can sign up for DBS Paylah! using SingPass even if you don’t have a DBS/POSB bank account. All DBS/POSB customers can sign up for DBS Paylah! using their digibank accounts.
How To Get The $3 Cashback In 2025
There are over 22,000 heartland shops, wet markets, and hawker stall in Singapore in this POSB Support Our Heartlands promotion. The complete list of participating stalls is subdivided into neighbourhoods so that they are easier to find.
Step 1: Participating heartland shops, wet market and coffee shops can be identified by the POSB wobbler (a hanging tag), which looks like this:
Source: POSB
For hawkers look out for the SGQR code with the Paylah! logo or the Paylah! sticker:
Source: POSB
Step 2: Scan to Pay with DBS Paylah!
Step 3: Receive your 100% cashback (up to $3). The cashback should be credited almost immediately, but can take up to the end of the day to be credited.
5 Things You Need To Know About The $3 Cashback
For those familiar with how this campaign works in previous years, there are some differences in this year’s SG60 campaign.
#1 There Is A Limit To The Number Of Redemptions
Only the first 160,000 users every Saturday starting from 6am will enjoy the 100% cashback. (Originally supposed to start at 8am, DBS announced the change to the start time on 17 July.) If the promotion is fully redeemed, there will be a banner on top of the DBS Paylah! app that reflects this.
Source: POSB
This is the highest number of weekly redemptions ever offered by the bank, in line with the SG60 celebrations. Previously, it was 100,000 transactions in 2023 and 75,000 transactions in 2024.
Read Also: TGIF: I Used DBS PayLah! To Get Free Lunches At Hawker Stalls On Fridays
#2 Redemptions Start At 6am
In last year’s campaign, redemptions began at 6am on Saturday, which resulted in the cashback reportedly being fully redeemed by 8am.
For this year, the bank originally changed the start time of the campaign to 8am, which, coupled with the higher number of redemptions offered, hopefully meant that more people will be able to benefit from the campaign without needing to get up that early on a Saturday.
After one Saturday, however, DBS announced on 17 July that the start time would revert to 6am.
#3 You Can Only Make One Redemption Every Saturday, So Make It Count
You will only be able to receive 100% cashback for one transaction each Saturday, even if that means you’ll receive less than the maximum $3 cashback.
| Item | Cost | Eligible Cashback |
| Bottled drink from 7-11 | $1.70 | $1.70 |
| Kaya toast set | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Prawn noodles | $5.00 | $3.00 |
Using the above examples, it would save you more to use DBS Paylah! for the kaya toast set or the bowl of prawn noodles. Since the cashback applies to your first qualifying transaction that Saturday, make sure you use it wisely, but don’t wait too long to use it in case it is fully redeemed.
#4 Don’t Worry If You Don’t Receive Your Cashback Immediately
As mentioned earlier, while the cashback is usually credited almost immediately, it might not always be the case and can take up to the end of the day to be credited.
However, if you still haven’t received the cashback by the end of the day, do check the following:
- You spent at a participating shop.
- The payment type is a NETS QR or PayNow UEN QR transaction. You can check this information in your transaction history on the DBS Paylah! app
- Your transaction was before the Fully Redeemed banner appeared.
- You’ve not received cashback for any other transaction that day.
If you’ve verified all these and are sure that you are eligible for the cashback, then contact the bank for help.
#5 Cashback Is Based On Time Of Transaction
Since it’s become a kind of race to redeem the cashback, even with the later start time and the higher number of redemptions this year, every second counts.
If you’re a regular at a hawker stall and your favourite hawker knows you and your order by sight, then take advantage of this familiarity to scan the QR code and pay for your meals while you’re still in the queue. This means you don’t wait till you’re at the front of the queue to make payment, since the cashback may have been fully redeemed by then.
Of course, we wouldn’t recommend this in any other scenario – the nightmare of having to prove that you made payment before making your order is not worth you or the hawker’s time, and definitely not worth $3.
