Hawker stalls payments have always been excluded for credit card rewards. Most take only cash or a bank QR code and there are currently no cards that allow us to earn miles & cashback. LiquidPay 2.0 changes that. The relaunched app lets you pay a hawker’s NETS QR code with a linked credit card, so spend that normally earns nothing now earns at your card’s usual rate, with the correct cards.
What LiquidPay 2.0 Actually Is
LiquidPay has been relaunched by Liquid Group (a payment institution regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore) as a cross-border payments and remittance app — its headline uses are transfers from Singapore PayNow to Malaysia’s DuitNow and India’s UPI, and QR payments for travellers. The feature we care about is: LiquidPay 2.0 can pay NETS QR codes — the QR codes you see at hawker stalls and small mom-and-pop shops — using a credit card you link inside the app.
Normally those merchants are QR-only, which means you either pay cash or pay by bank transfer, and either way you earn nothing. LiquidPay sits in the middle: it charges your card and pays the stall, so the spend finally counts towards your card rewards.
Why It Earns Rewards: MCC 5399
LiquidPay’s NETS QR payments code as MCC 5399 (Miscellaneous General Merchandise Stores). That code is rewards-eligible, and more importantly it is whitelisted for bonus earning on several specialised cards — which is how you can earn up to 4 miles per dollar (mpd) on everyday hawker spend.
How to Set It Up
- Download LiquidPay from the App Store or Google Play.
- Register and verify your identity using Singpass.
- Link a credit card inside the app.
- At the stall, open LiquidPay and scan the NETS QR code. It works at NETS QR terminals that accept LiquidPay — look for the LiquidPay or XNAP logo.
- Enter the amount, confirm, and the stall gets paid.
If the confirmation screen currently shows the wrong time, tap “view details” to show the correct time.
Setting up LiquidPay in-app. Singpass identity verification can take hours — mine took about 5 — and may show “Verification cancelled” before it completes.
Get this part right: add your card as a payment method (a linked card) — do not top up your Liquid wallet. In the app, only debit cards can top up (and a fee applies), but both debit and credit cards work for QR payments. The linked-card function charges your credit card directly when you scan, which is what earns the rewards. So don’t top up, and don’t use a debit card to top up.
To add your card, go to Profile → Payment Methods → Add Card and add one of the credit cards in the table below.
Step 1 — from your Profile, tap Payment Methods.
Step 2 — tap Add Card. Note the app’s own line: only debit cards can top up your wallet, but both debit and credit cards work for QR payments.
Step 3 — your credit card shows as Verified once added.
Skip the Top-Up screen — it only takes PayNow or a debit card (with a fee). You do not need to top up; the linked card charges your credit card directly.
Is There a Fee?
Paying a NETS QR code by credit card carries no fee to you, so you earn your card’s rewards in full.
There is a 1% fee on debit-card top-ups into the LiquidPay wallet, which is a separate function. The wallet itself is capped at S$5,000, with a S$30,000 annual limit.
This Has Happened Before
This is not the first time Liquid Group has enabled card rewards at QR-only merchants. LiquidPay previously allowed credit-card QR payments and then removed them. Liquid Group then ran XNAP, which did much the same through Apple Pay and Google Pay, and it has since closed. American Express Pay offered another route, and it is gone too. So who knows how long this will last.
Best Cards to Use
Here is the best cards line-up, split into miles and cashback.
| Card | Type | Earn rate | Cap & min spend |
|---|---|---|---|
 HSBC RevolutionApply | Miles | 4 mpd (8 mpd with S$50K EGA balance) | S$1,000 / calendar month · no min spend |
 Citi RewardsApply | Miles | 4 mpd | S$1,000 / statement month · no min spend |
 DBS Woman’s WorldApply | Miles | 4 mpd | S$1,000 / calendar month · no min spend |
 UOB Preferred VisaApply | Miles | 4 mpd | S$600 / calendar month (online category) |
 UOB EVOLApply | Cashback | 10% (online & mobile contactless) | S$30 / month cap · S$800 min spend |
 Maybank Family & FriendsApply | Cashback | 8% under the Online Shopping category (6% at lower tier) | S$1,600 min for 8% (S$800 for 6%) |
| OCBC FRANK | Cashback | Up to 8% | S$25 / month |
| DCS Flex | Cashback | Up to 6% | S$25 / month |
One note on categories: because LiquidPay codes as MCC 5399, it sits in the Online Shopping category on cards that earn by category. On Maybank Family & Friends, for example, you must pick Online Shopping as one of your five categories — it does not earn under Dining. Earn rates and caps change often, so confirm against the bank’s page and your statement (MCC tagging can vary by merchant).
Best Miles Cards
Requirements (tap to expand)
- You qualify if: you have no HSBC credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any HSBC credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 by the end of the month after you're approved. Example: approved in May → spend by 30 June.
- During the application, tick the box to receive marketing messages from HSBC. Don't unsubscribe until your gift arrives — if you do, HSBC can cancel the reward.
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
Requirements (tap to expand)
- Eligible for new main Citi Cardmembers only (no existing Citi card, no Citi card closed in the past 12 months)
- Spend S$800 in the first 2 months of card approval
Requirements (tap to expand)
- You qualify if: you have no Citibank credit card right now AND haven't cancelled any Citi credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within 30 days of card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
Requirements (tap to expand)
- Apply for XL Cashback or XL Rewards Card via the button
- Fill the Google Form after signing up
- Make one transaction → cashback auto-credited to card account
Requirements (tap to expand)
- Apply for a new Maybank Credit Card (not applicable for Maybank XL cards)
- Charge min. S$1,300 within the first 2 months of card approval
- Fill the Google Form after signing up
- Alternative: apply for CreditAble + a Maybank Credit Card, then charge min. S$1,200 within 2 months
Best Cashback Cards
Requirements (tap to expand)
- Apply for a new Maybank Credit Card (not applicable for Maybank XL cards)
- Charge min. S$1,300 within the first 2 months of card approval
- Fill the Google Form after signing up
- Alternative: apply for CreditAble + a Maybank Credit Card, then charge min. S$1,200 within 2 months
Requirements (tap to expand)
- You qualify if: you have no DBS/POSB credit card right now, AND haven't cancelled any DBS/POSB credit card in the last 12 months
- Enter promo code SINGSAVER during application
- Spend min. S$500 within 30 days of card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
Requirements (tap to expand)
- Eligible for new main Citi Cardmembers only (no existing Citi card, no Citi card closed in the past 12 months)
- Spend S$800 in the first 2 months of card approval
Requirements (tap to expand)
- You qualify if: you have no Citibank credit card right now AND haven't cancelled any Citi credit card in the last 12 months
- Spend min. S$500 within 30 days of card approval
- SingSaver will email you a Rewards Redemption Form — check inbox (and spam folder) after applying. Fill it in within 14 days to claim your gift, or you'll lose it.
What to Watch Out For
The app is buggy and glitchy. You may experience a frozen splash screen when entering card details, a stuck keypad on the amount screen, or Singpass verification that hangs.
The app currently sits at around 2.1 stars on the App Store, and a recurring complaint is accounts being frozen — sometimes on the very first transaction — with verification documents requested and little follow-up, no local support hotline, and balances left stuck. If you do try it, pay on a linked card rather than pre-loading/topping up money into the wallet.
My Take
It is a useful window while it lasts: I would use a linked card for small hawker payments, keep a backup on hand, and avoid topping up money in the app.
This is exactly the kind of thing that can vanish overnight, so I’ll post the moment LiquidPay changes it. 💳 Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it is difficult to stay updated. That is why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates.
