PayNow is a peer-to-peer fund transfer service launched by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) on 10 July 2017 and is available to all consumers in Singapore. It enables instantaneous transactions that is available 24/7.
What Is PayNow Corporate?
PayNow for businesses, or PayNow Corporate, extends this payment platform to businesses in Singapore. Companies in Singapore can use it to pay and receive Singapore Dollar funds instantly by linking your Unique Entity Number (UEN) to your bank account. Customers do not need to know your bank account details.
Similar to cash, cheques or bank transfers, PayNow is an excellent alternative method for businesses to pay their vendors and to receive payments from their customers. As a business, you can use PayNow Corporate to pay and receive payments via PayNow.
You simply need to register for PayNow Corporate with your bank for free. PayNow Corporate is offered by 21 participating banks and five participating Non-Bank Financial Institutions:
- ANEXT Bank
- ANZ
- Bank of China
- BNP Paribas
- CIMB Bank Berhad
- Citibank Singapore Limited
- DBS Bank/POSB
- Deutsche Bank
- Green Link Digital Bank (GLDB)
- GXS Bank
- HSBC
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC)
- J.P. Morgan
- MariBank
- Maybank
- OCBC Bank
- RHB Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
- Trust Bank
- UOB
- GrabPay
- LiquidPay
- Singtel Dash
- Xfers
- NIUM
- Wise
#1 Convenient & Contactless
The COVID-19 pandemic has only expedited the need for cashless and contactless payment solutions. PayNow helps facilitate this.
Through PayNow Corporate, businesses can get a unique QR code, allowing their customers to pay via mobile phones without exchanging physical cash.
PayNow also allows businesses to allow their customers to pay from wherever it’s convenient for them. For example, enrichment centers can allow their customers to pay in advance when they book for classes instead of having to pay on the spot with cash, cheques or Nets when they show up for classes. This also helps reduce no-show rates, which are detrimental to a business.
Businesses can also accept payment via PayNow Corporate by putting their SGQR code on invoices or via their Unique Entity Number (UEN).
#2 Speed
In a previous article, we discussed how cash flow is critical for the survival of any business. While many business owners naturally focus on generating profits for their companies, strong cash flow is also essential to continuing to run a healthy business.
When you compare the speed of PayNow against traditional payment methods such as cheques, there’s no comparison. For a customer issuing a cheque payment and sending it via mail, it will take about 2-4 working days for the mail to arrive. After that, businesses (assuming they check their letterbox daily) still need to bank in the cheque, which would take another three working days. In total, from the time the customer issues the cheque, to the time the company receives payment, it could easily take a week or more.
For businesses where cash flow is essential, PayNow is the superior option. Once a transfer is made, businesses get paid instantly with no delay.
#3 Security & Safety
Security and safety are paramount when dealing with any money-related matters. In this regard, PayNow, while convenient, doesn’t compromise on its security.
According to the ABS, PayNow adopts the same high-security standards established by the banking industry in Singapore for fund transfers including FAST.
In addition, unlike a traditional fund transfer, senders can see the recipient’s name before confirming the transfer. This confirmation provides added assurance to the sender that money is being sent to the intended recipient. A confirmation process is also available for entities transferring funds.
PayNow is safer than cash payment as it doesn’t require businesses to collect and hold cash. This reduces the risk of crime, stealing, and other challenges that businesses may face when handling large sums of money regularly. It’s even safer than cheques, which can be misplaced.
Read Also: 4 Things That Small Business Owners In Singapore Should Know Before Paying Salaries
#4 Receive Government Payouts Faster
Just like Singapore Citizens and PRs receive government payouts faster with PayNow, the government also uses PayNow to disburse funds to companies from various schemes.
By registering PayNow for your business, you will be able to receive funds from the government much quicker than traditional cheques and even GIRO transfers.
How To Register For PayNow Corporate
Registering for PayNow for your business can be done quickly and entirely online. There are 14 participating banks that you can register for PayNow Corporate with your business account. Simply log-in to your online business banking or business mobile banking app to do so.
For example, if you are an OCBC business banking user, you can register your business account for PayNow by linking your account to your UEN using Velocity@ocbc (Desktop) or your OCBC Business Mobile Banking app.
You will be issued with an SGQR code. With that, you can collect payment by pasting the QR sticker label at your retail stores or by sending your customers an invoice with the QR code. Customers can scan the QR code to pay you via PayNow or your UEN.
PayNow Is Linked To Thailand’s PromptPay
On 29 April 2021, MAS announced a first-of-its-kind linkage between PayNow to Thailand’s PromptPay. This means that customers of participating banks in Singapore and Thailand can transfer up to $1,000 or THB25,000 in a matter of minutes, between participating banks in both countries daily.
This will solve long-standing pain points in cross-border money transfers and remittances. Fees will be affordably priced and transparently displayed to customers before the transactions – and will be in line with market rates.
Participating banks in Singapore include DBS, OCBC and UOB, while participating banks in Thailand include Bangkok Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Bank, and The Siam Commercial Bank.
Read Also: Which Bank Accounts Do You Need When Becoming A Digital Nomad In Thailand
PayNow To India’s UPI Linkage
On 21 February 2023, it was announced that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have launched the linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
PayNow – UPI linkage provides a convenient (24/7), fast, secure and cost-effective means for customers of participating Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore and India to perform cross-border transfers. Singapore’s PayNow and India’s UPI users will be able to send money instantly and securely across the two countries.
Current participants in Singapore are DBS and Liquid Group.
PayNow To Malaysia’s DuitNow
On November 17, 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), announced the launch of a real-time payment linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and Malaysia’s DuitNow.
This PayNow-DuitNow linkage allows instant, secure and cost-effective peer-to-peer (P2P) fund transfers and remittances between the two countries. Notably, it is the first cross-border payment system that includes non-bank financial institutions from both nations, broadening access to a wider group of users.
The service will be rolled out to Singaporean customers of Liquid Group, Maybank Singapore, OCBC, and UOB in phases, with these institutions progressively expanding the number of eligible user groups until the end of January 2024. This phased approach aims to help customers get familiar with the service.
In Malaysia, the service will initially be available to CIMB, Maybank, and TNG Digital users, with other financial institutions gradually joining later.
Sign Up For PayNow
With the proliferation of cashless transactions and the reduction of the use of cash among many people in Singapore over the past few years, now is as good a time as any for businesses to consider adopting PayNow as a method to pay our receive payment. At the very least, it gives your customers the convenience of an additional payment option to choose from.
For some businesses, using PayNow to receive payment may even be the difference between having cash flow problems in the next few months and being able to mitigate these cashflow problems by using PayNow.
This article was first published on 8 April 2020 and has been updated with additional information.
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