Leaving your home with only your handphone is something that is more doable in 2023. You can make payments for most goods and services using your mobile apps and Apple Pay or Android Pay.
It used to be a hassle to eat at hawker centres as only cash payments were accepted. If you did not bring cash, you would have to head to the nearest ATM to withdraw some, eating into your lunch or dinner time.
Now, partly due to the pandemic and the need for cashless adoption to curb virus transmission, the drive for cashless payments has supported the digital push for even mom-and-pop merchants to adopt digital payments.
Cashless payments are quite prevalent in countries like China and Korea. But for Singapore, it took a little longer for people to adopt these methods of payment. The Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) is one such unified payment QR code system that allowed the quick adoption of cashless methods.
What Is SGQR
It combines multiple payment QR codes into a single SGQR label, making QR payments easy to use for consumers and merchants. Users can scan the QR code and pay using the accepted payment options by the available merchants displayed on the SGQR label.
There are many payment options available on the SGQR label and can be found in the small icon list below the QR code. According to checks, there are over 30 SGQR payment service providers that offer this service.
Anyone who owns a mobile phone with a camera and data connectivity and an account with e-payment options will be able to make payments via SGQR.
The service opens up Singapore’s interbank instant fund transfer system to non-banks and banks, building the country’s national cashless system.
According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the majority of merchants (more than 203,000) in the country accept payment via SGQR. The SGQR scheme is co-owned by MAS and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Merchants only need to display one SGQR label in their stores instead of labels from the various payment providers.
There is no extra cost for consumers when using SGQR to make payments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VmJm9imBp4
How To Pay Using SGQR
The steps to make payment using SGQR are straightforward:
Step 1:
Pick and launch your preferred payment app
Step 2:
Scan the SGQR and check the merchant name
Step 3:
Enter the amount and pay
You will receive an almost immediate payment notification once payment is successful. The merchant should receive a notification too.
SGQR Payment Service Merchant Acquirers: Popular Consumer-Centric Fintech Firms (Non-Banks) And Banks
Most users in Singapore have at least one of the following companies as their go-to cashless mobile app payment provider. Some (including myself), are using as much as 8 payment providers.
The reason could be that there are various incentives to use the various payment apps on different occasions. Sometimes there are deals on GrabPay that cannot be found on other apps. Likewise, Favepay also offers cashback for purchases which can add to some savings if you always buy from the same merchant. There’s also the $3 cashback from PayLah! on Fridays.
Here is a general list of the popular consumer-focused (or consumer-to-business) payment providers on SGQR.
Fintech Firms:
- GrabPay
- Alipay
- ShopeePay
- Beeconomic (FavePay)
- SingCash
- FOMO Pay (Also provides end-to-end digital payment solutions for businesses)
Banks
- DBS Bank
- OCBC
- UOB
- HSBC
- Bank of China
- American Express
- Australia And New Zealand (ANZ) Bank
- CIMB Bank
- Citibank
- DinersPay
- Maybank
- Stanchart
SGQR Payment Service Merchant Acquirers (Others): NETS, Singapore Sports Council, Uniweb, UQPay, YYLife, CC Financial Services
Some entities have also been onboarded with SGQR due to their own large customer base, as well as a payment method for business-to-business (B2B) operations. Here is a summary of what the entities are and what they do.
NETS
Customers can scan the SGQR label and make payment via DBS PayLah!, OCBC PayAnyone, UOB TMRW, Stanchart mobile, and NETSPay. Thai banking apps are also accepted. Other payment modes including Alipay+ and WeChatPay are optional services.
Singapore Sports Council
Known as Sport Singapore, it is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. The council has over 1.6 million ActiveSG members and the embracing of the SGQR by Sport Singapore through its active wallet was a natural step.
Uniweb
It is an integrated payment and marketing service provider, powering financial institutions to accept a full suite of alternative payments in Singapore.
UQPay
It provides merchants with a platform to send payment transaction details with secure payment links. UQpay constructs cloud-native, frictionless, low-entry, customizable, and elastic composable payment service components.
YYLife
It is a platform that provides income opportunities and workforce solutions.
CC Financial Services
It is a third-party payment service provider offering payment solutions to businesses.
Resolving QR Payment Or Fraud Issues
Some best practices to ensure you are safe from fraud are to use the correct payment apps to make payments and to check the merchant name in the payment app when making the payment.
The almost immediate notification of successful payment is also an indication of payment received.
If you encounter issues with payments made using SGQR, you can file an incident report with your payment app. Your service provider may allow partial refunds or cancellations for wrong transactions.
Read Also: Guide To The Different Car Licence Plates In Singapore (Colours & Numbers)
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