PayNow is an advanced real-time payment platform engineered by the Association of Banks in Singapore. This system enables immediate inter-bank transactions between individuals and merchants. Supported by all major banks in Singapore, PayNow operates under the oversight of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), facilitating the transfer of funds between bank accounts effortlessly.
The system allows payments to be made using a Singaporean mobile number, NRIC, corporate Unique Entity Number (UEN), or Virtual Payment Address (VPA). It also incorporates QR code scanning for transactions. PayNow is integrated with various payment networks, including Stripe, as well as international counterparts like DuitNow in Malaysia, PromptPay in Thailand, and UPI in India.
PayNow provides a superior transaction experience, permitting customers of participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) to instantly send and receive funds in Singapore Dollars from one bank or e-wallet to another via FAST, using just a mobile number, Singapore NRIC/FIN, or VPA. This eliminates the need for the sender to know the recipient’s bank or e-wallet account details.
Introduced on 10 July 2017 for banks and on 8 February 2021 for NFIs, PayNow is accessible at no cost to retail users around the clock, throughout the year.
In 2020, PayNow facilitated 125 million transactions, amounting to S$22 billion in value.