S’poreans can soon use a single QR code to pay with different digital wallets, banking apps

Singapore’s leading payment services provider, Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS), announced the islandwide rollout of the Singapore Quick Response Code Scheme (SGQR+) today (November 7).

Following the successful pilot in November last year, SGQR+ is now available at 24,000 acceptance points across Singapore. Issuers’ wallets will also be extended to hawker centres, bringing the total number of acceptance points to over 35,000.

According to a press release by NETS, the new SGQR+ system will enable consumers to use a single QR code for payments, simplifying transactions across multiple digital wallets and banking apps.

Building on the success of the Hawkers Go Digital initiative, NETS will implement SGQR+ across food and beverage outlets and retail sectors, with a target of increasing acceptance points by 10% annually.

Participating financial institutions dtcpay, Maybank, and Singapore’s MariBank are set to join the platform, allowing their customers to use their wallets at participating merchants, including popular outlets like Arnold’s Fried Chicken, Twelve Cupcakes, and ZooMoov.

NETS is privileged to play a role in facilitating QR interoperability in Singapore. The SGQR+ POC project is a milestone for digital transactions in Singapore, making it more convenient for merchants to accept more payment schemes through NETS.

With NETS, each merchant only needs one commercial arrangement to accept payments from multiple domestic and inbound payment options. It also gives them access to a wider customer base and allows both merchants and consumers to transact more easily, efficiently and safely.

The technical rollout is scheduled to go live by Q4 2024, with dtcpay and MariBank wallets expected to fully integrate by Q2 2025. Customers can then pay seamlessly at around 16,500 merchants via the SGQR+ QR code.

Accelerating digital payment adoption in Singapore

The SGQR+ initiative follows Singapore’s initial launch of SGQR in 2018, which combined multiple QR payment options into a single code to simplify digital payments.

However, due to the lack of uniformity, the initial version required merchants to maintain multiple financial relationships to support different payment schemes. The SGQR+ Proof of Concept (POC) sought to improve interoperability and streamline these processes.

According to a post-POC report from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), 75% of participating merchants showed interest in continuing with SGQR+, while 86% of financial institutions found it easy to integrate.

The report also found that participating merchants increased their supported payment schemes from an average of three to 12, with transaction volumes rising by nearly 94% among the top ten participating merchants compared to the previous month.

SGQR+ also supports cross-border payments with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, with further expansions anticipated to enhance regional connectivity and payment options.

Featured Image Credit: NETS