The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have released the findings of Phase 1 of their PayNow Generation 2 (Gen2) study. This initiative seeks to evaluate and enhance Singapore’s instant payments system by benchmarking it against leading global systems and identifying key areas for improvement.
The study, which involved engagement with 37 organisations, including banks, payment service providers, and government agencies, highlighted the need for advanced consumer user experience capabilities and expanded business-to-business (B2B) payment flows. The findings suggest that PayNow could benefit from features such as preauthorised and recurring payment flows, pull payments, and deeper merchant integration.
PayNow, launched in 2017, has become a widely adopted payment method in Singapore, with over 90% of Singaporeans and 350,000 businesses registered. However, evolving payment demands and innovations necessitate further development. The study’s recommendations focus on enhancing customer payment experiences, software-enabled business payments, and network coverage.
Phase 2 of the study will prioritise these enhancements, evaluating them against user experience, security, and cost-effectiveness. MAS and ABS will collaborate with industry partners to operationalise these improvements, supported by proof-of-concept demonstrations to assess their impact on user experience and market adoption.
The study underscores the importance of evolving PayNow into a future-ready national payments infrastructure, ensuring it remains competitive and meets the needs of both consumers and businesses in an ever-changing global payments landscape.
