NETSSingapore's EFTPOS domestic debit scheme, one of the oldest still running anywhere, owned by the banks rather than the central bank. It also runs eNETS (online), NETS QR, and the SGQR+ program.Network for Electronic Transfers (Singapore) Pte Ltd (owned in equal shares by DBS, OCBC, and UOB) · since 1985More than 150,000 acceptance points in Singapore (NETS)
Global registry · Asia-Pacific · Southeast Asia
Singapore Payment systems
14 systems listed.
CurrencySingapore dollar (SGD)
Domestic schemeNETS
RegulatorMonetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Leading payment methods
CardsWallets (GrabPay, Apple Pay)PayNow (A2A)SGQR
E-commerce shares
Cards · 44%Wallets · 40%Account-to-account · 10%Buy now, pay later · 3%Other · 3%
PayNow. Singaporean banks’ alias-based instant transfer service (mobile number or NRIC, the national ID number), linked to PromptPay (Thailand, 2021, the world’s first bilateral link), India (UPI, 2023), and Malaysia. The unified SGQR code brings some 30 schemes together on a single sticker.
SGQR≈30 schemes on a single QR code
PayNow linksThailand (2021), India (2023), Malaysia (2023)
A regional payments hub and testbed for the BIS’s Project Nexus, which aims to link instant payment rails across Asia and beyond on a multilateral basis.
Learn about this market. The guides and courses that cover it.
Payments in SingaporePayments in Oceania and CanadaPayments in Central AsiaPayments in South Asia outside IndiaPayments in Southeast AsiaPayments in Japan and KoreaAccepting payments in Australia and New ZealandAccepting payments in Indonesia and ThailandAccepting payments in Japan and South KoreaAccepting payments in Southeast AsiaPayments in Asia: super-apps, public rails, and cross-border QROpening a new market: the payments playbook
Card schemes
Instant payments
FAST (Fast And Secure Transfers)Singapore’s instant payment rail. A key point for integrators: FAST is the infrastructure, and PayNow is only the proxy addressing layer on top of it.Banking Computer Services (BCS) for the Association of Banks in Singapore · since 2014500 million transactions worth S$661.748 billion in 2024, up 31% in volume and 36% in value year over year (MAS)
PayNowAddressing by mobile number, NRIC (national ID), or UEN (business registration number) on top of FAST, extended to businesses (PayNow Corporate) and nonbank institutions. It supports all three of Singapore’s cross-border links (Thailand, India, Malaysia). A “PayNow Gen2” program is under way.Association of Banks in Singapore (operated by BCS) · since 2017More than 45% of Singapore’s account-to-account transfer market in 2025; 437 million transactions worth S$157 billion in 2023
Clearing and settlement
GIROSingapore’s batch direct debit and credit transfer system, still dominant for recurring bills and taxes despite PayNow. eGIRO has digitized mandate setup.Banking Computer Services (BCS) · since 1984
Wallets
NETS FlashPayContactless prepaid purse based on the CEPAS standard. On January 9, 2024, the LTA announced it would phase the card out of public transit (with a mandatory switch to SimplyGo by June 1, 2024), but reversed the decision on January 22, 2024, after a public outcry. Card-based ticketing will run alongside SimplyGo until at least 2030, and NETS has taken back card sales and support. A voluntary exchange program for the NETS Prepaid Card remains in place.NETS · since 2009Card-based ticketing for adults kept alive with S$40 million in funding and extended until at least 2030 (LTA, 2024); the card is accepted at more than 130,000 NETS points (NETS, 2024).
GrabPayThe wallet of Southeast Asia's leading super app. What makes it interesting is less its volume than its model: ride-hailing, delivery, payments, and financial services tied to a single account. This entry deliberately covers only Singapore, where the MAS register identifies the licensed entity as a Major Payment Institution. The brand's presence in other Southeast Asian markets relies on separate entities and licenses. Check them country by country rather than inferring them from the brand.Grablink Pte. Ltd. (Grab group's Singapore entity, holder of a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore)
Interoperable QR
SGQRThe world’s first unified QR code to combine several domestic and international schemes on a single label. It is a display standard, not a clearing scheme, and the distinction matters.MAS / IMDA (via the Singapore Payments Council) · since 2018
Buy now, pay later
AtomeBuy now, pay later in three interest-free installments, accepted online and in store. This entry covers Singapore only: the group's claimed regional presence could not be verified market by market, and each market requires its own local lending license.Apaylater Financials Pte. Ltd. (Singapore entity of Atome Financial, itself owned by Advance Intelligence Group (founded in 2016); holder of payment services license PS20200511, company registration number 201936265H.)
Cross-border rails
PartiorShared ledger for 24/7 atomic settlement of cross-border payments and interbank FX PvP. A bank-led alternative to traditional correspondent banking: settlement is simultaneous and final, with no intraday exposure. Worth watching as the most advanced private-sector competitor to an mBridge-type platform.Partior Pte. Ltd. (J.P. Morgan / DBS / Temasek joint venture, with Standard Chartered as a shareholder) · since 2021Participants include DBS, J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, and NH NongHyup Bank; investors include Temasek, Peak XV, Valor, and Jump Crypto (Partior website, accessed July 2026); volumes not published
Central bank digital currency
Singapore dollar wholesale CBDC (SGD Testnet)PilotFirst live settlement of overnight interbank loans in wholesale CBDC, with DBS, OCBC, and UOB. Singapore has made its choice: no retail CBDC, but a wholesale CBDC for interbank settlement and tokenization.Monetary Authority of Singapore · since 2025
Purpose Bound Money / Project OrchidPilotExploration of a retail digital currency whose practical outcome was not a CBDC but a “purpose-bound money” protocol applicable to tokenized deposits and stablecoins. The region’s most fully developed conceptual answer to programmability.Monetary Authority of Singapore · since 2021
Stablecoins
XSGDStablecoin backed by the Singapore dollar, fully collateralized in fiat with monthly attestations, and deployed on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Hedera, Zilliqa, and the XRP Ledger. The reference case for the MAS stablecoin framework.StraitsX (Xfers Pte Ltd), Major Payment Institution license PS20200657 · since 2020
USDG (Global Dollar)Dollar stablecoin that stands out by sharing reserve yield with its distributors, which the Tether and Circle models do not. Beware the shortcut: despite the dollar peg and Paxos’s US roots, the issuer is Singaporean and regulated by the MAS, not under the GENIUS Act.Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd. (issued under the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, with a MiCA-compliant European issuance by Paxos Issuance Europe; distributed through the Global Dollar Network consortium) · since 2024more than $3.4 billion in market capitalization in December 2025, up from the $1 billion mark crossed the previous month (DefiLlama / Paxos)
Other
MEPS+ (MAS Electronic Payment System)Singapore’s RTGS and government securities settlement system. The final settlement point for FAST, GIRO, and the local card schemes.Monetary Authority of Singapore · since 2006