The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today that eligible non-bank financial institutions (NFIs) will have direct access to the banking system’s retail payments infrastructure from February 2021.
MAS said NFIs that are licenced as major payment institutions under the Payment Services Act will be allowed to connect directly to Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST). FAST is an electronic funds transfer service that enables customers of participating entities to transfer Singapore dollar funds from one entity to another instantly.
FAST is available 24/7, 365 days of the year. and PayNow. PayNow is an overlay central addressing service that runs on top of the FAST payment system.
Direct connection to FAST and PayNow will enable users of NFI e-wallets to make real-time funds transfers between bank accounts and e-wallets as well as across different e-wallets. Currently, most e-wallets require the use of debit or credit cards to top-up funds, and funds transfers between e-wallets are not possible.
Businesses that partner any of the 23 FAST or 9 PayNow banks, or e-wallets that have traditionally been closed-loop ecosystems will soon be able to receive real-time payments from other users of e-wallets or mobile banking applications that will be joining FAST or PayNow.
This will enable businesses to access a larger market of consumers than before for receiving e-payments instantly and seamlessly.
NFIs will be able to connect directly through a new Application Programming Interface (API) payment gateway developed by the Direct FAST Working Group (DFWG).
The DFWG comprises Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd (BCS), The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), selected bank members (Citi Singapore, DBS, Deutsche Bank AG Singapore, HSBC Singapore, Maybank Singapore, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Singapore Limited, UOB) and NFI members (Grab Financial Group, Liquid Group, MatchMove, Razer Fintech, Singtel Dash, TransferWise)., with guidance from the Singapore Clearing House Association (SCHA) and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), which govern FAST and PayNow respectively.
“Direct access by NFIs to FAST and PayNow closes the last-mile gap in Singapore’s e-payments journey. Consumers who may not have ready access to debit or credit cards to fund their e-wallets will now have the option to do so directly through their bank accounts. Our vision to enable complete real-time payments interoperability will now become a reality. Adoption of e-payments will become even more simple for individuals and businesses,” said Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS. – BusinessNewsAsia.com