Electronic Payments
MAS facilitated non-bank financial institutions’ access to FAST and PayNow
1 February 2021
Starting February 2021, eligible non-bank financial institutions (NFIs) would be able to have direct access to FAST and PayNow. This milestone enables users of NFIs’ e-wallets and bank accounts to make real-time funds transfers between bank accounts and e-wallets, as well as across different e-wallets. Following this development, consumers without ready access to credit or debit cards to fund their e-wallets can now directly make fund transfers to their e-wallets from their bank accounts, while businesses have access to a larger market of consumers than before.
MAS partnered the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to launch the world’s first linkage of real-time retail payment systems in Singapore and Thailand
29 April 2021
MAS and BOT launched a linkage of the two countries’ PayNow and PromptPay real-time retail payment systems. The first of its kind globally, the PayNow-PromptPay linkage allows customers of participating banks to use a foreign mobile number to send funds almost instantly across the two countries. MAS and BOT will progressively scale the PayNow-PromptPay linkage to include more participants as well as functionalities such as QR payments. The linkage will also serve as a pathfinder for ASEAN to establish further bilateral linkages within the region.
- MAS media release, published on 29 April 2021, on Singapore and Thailand’s launch of world’s first linkage of real-time payment systems
- Managing Director of MAS Ravi Menon’s opening remarks "Foundational Infrastructures for an Inclusive Digital Economy", delivered on 26 April 2021 at launch of Report on Foundational Digital Infrastructures
MAS encouraged the public to use digital gifting methods for the Lunar New Year
11 January 2021
MAS and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) encouraged the public to use e-hong baos during the Lunar New Year, as part of efforts to promote environmental sustainability, while reducing queues for physical notes at the banks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. MAS also invited FinTech firms to develop e-gifting solutions for different purposes. A special recognition award would be presented to the most innovative FinTech e-gifting solution at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2021.