GST
Refunds Made Even Easier by NETS and Premier TaxFree
in Singapore
24 May 2005
Leading payments facilitator, Network for Electronic
Transfers (Singapore) Pte Ltd (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.
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."
