SINGAPORE – PayNow users can expect a more seamless payment experience under a new set of enhancements unveiled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS).
These include a unified QR payment experience for local users and tourists using PayNow and NETS QR codes, as well as an enhanced online checkout experience for customers shopping on major merchants’ and e-commerce platforms.
Larger-value transactions for selected government payment are also being studied, alongside a wider range of payment options to support businesses, including low-value, high-frequency transactions and expanded cross-border connectivity.
The proposals form part of the PayNow Generation 2 study unveiled on June 25, which aims to prepare Singapore’s national payments infrastructure for changing consumer and business needs.
Merchants currently process payments through either a PayNow bank or NETS. As a result, not all banking apps or wallets can scan a NETS QR code, and the NETS app cannot scan and pay to a PayNow QR code.
MAS and ABS also aim to have the smoother online checkout functionality ready within a year.
Consumers making online purchases currently have to save a PayNow QR code, switch to their banking app to complete the payment and then return to the merchant’s website.
Under the proposed integration, users would be taken directly from a merchant’s website or app to their banking or wallet app with payment details pre-filled.
The testing for larger-value government transactions will commence in 2027, while preparation for expanded capabilities for business needs will commence in 2026, MAS and ABS added.
In the study, PayNow was benchmarked against payment systems in 11 jurisdictions: Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
It found that PayNow performed well in areas such as adoption and reach, pricing, and core user experience.
But it also identified room for improvement in advanced consumer capabilities, such as pre-authorised and recurring payments, as well as business-to-business payment flows and higher transaction limits.
PayNow was launched in 2017 as a peer-to peer funds transfer service in response to increasing consumer demand to make transferring funds easier and more convenient, and to allow real-time bank transfers without having to share bank account details.
An MAS spokesperson told The Straits Times in April that more than 90 per cent of Singapore residents and businesses use PayNow, according to data from ABS.
