GST Refunds Made Even Easier by NETS and Premier TaxFree in Singapore

Leading payments facilitator, Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore (NETS) and refund specialist Premier TaxFree Singapore today made GST refunds even easier for visitors to Singapore with the launch of a new terminal sharing partnership.

After a successful launch of Premier TaxFree on NETS point-of-sale (POS) terminals with selected merchants earlier this year, the second phase of the partnership will see the GST refund service expanded islandwide.

Under the partnership, NETS provides the terminal hardware to carry out GST refunds and the acceptance of customers’ cards at participating merchant outlets. Meanwhile, Premier TaxFree provides the software solutions for the processing and clearance of tourist refunds.

Ms Suman Balani, General Manager, NETS Payment, Cards and Loyalty Business, said, “This partnership with Premier TaxFree is part of our ‘NETS terminals serve all needs’ strategy to ensure that our merchants remain competitive and can provide customers with quick and hassle free services from just one payments counter.

“This service will also help our merchants capture more tourist dollars. With Singapore’s plans to double tourist arrivals to 17 million by 2015 and triple tourism spending to S$30 billion, NETS wants to ensure our retailers can make the most of major opportunities to grow their businesses.”

Premier TaxFree works by identifying shoppers via automatic recognition at the point-of-sale, a programme that verifies customers’ eligibility, prints the refund voucher and then submits the payment transaction electronically. On average, the entire process takes just 30 seconds.

Automatic recognition was pioneered by Premier Tax Free. It enables the POS terminal to identify potential tourists by the swipe of their credit or debit card. The terminals can recognise cards issued in, for example, the UK or America. This ensures that all eligible tourists are offered the opportunity to get a GST refund.

“Before the arrival of Premier TaxFree, the tourist refund voucher was issued manually, which was cumbersome and time consuming, and also meant that some tourists were not offered or aware of the GST refund service. Premier TaxFree has automated and streamlined this process and won the support of the Singapore Tourism Board and thousands of merchants. We are now further enhancing our payment solutions with the integration of Premier Automatic on the ubiquitous NETS terminal network,” said Declan Barry, Regional Director, Premier TaxFree (Asia Pacific).

“I believe this partnership shows our willingness to continually improve the services we provide consumers and retailers and supports our objective of confirming our status as the leading GST refund agency.” 

To complete the refund, purchase details are recorded when the card is swiped on the NETS terminal. The refund amount is then calculated and a voucher is printed. Then, the tourist simply has to present their refund voucher with their goods and invoices at the Customs Desk at Changi Airport. Once cleared, tourists proceed to the Premier TaxFree Refund Counter for payment.

For retailers, this service means less time spent on refund claims and more time for selling their products.

“Premier Tax Free makes a lot of sense for our business,” said Jimmy Fong, Managing Director of the Apple Computer Centre located in Orchard Road - Singapore’s most famous shopping district.

“We have cut down on our customer’s waiting time for GST refund processing by at least five minutes per transaction. The Premier Automatic solution is so quick and easy to use, it makes the transition from the previous manual system painless. Last but not least the Premier Tax Free team have worked with us closely to improve our processes, which has resulted in better customer service.”

See other recent news regarding: Singapore