Digital payments industry heats up in Singapore, major companies jump on board

Singapore consumers are ahead of the curve when it comes to digital payments, at least in comparison to the rest of Asia. In terms of consumer readiness, the island-state leads the pack by a wide margin in electronic payments, while coming in second only to the Philippines in mobile payments. This is the scene right now:

Source: World Bank, 2011

It makes sense, therefore, that companies are flocking to be a part of the transition to digital payments in Singapore. Over the past few months, payment providers, banks and telcos have led the way in providing solutions in this space. Here are some of the latest digital payment solutions in Singapore that have emerged thus far.

1. MasterPass

MasterCard is a household name when it comes to credit cards, electronic and online payments. With the launch of MasterPass, they’re looking to make online payments in Singapore even simpler than they were before.

Previously, in order to make payments online with MasterCard, a person must enter his or her shipping and card information to complete the process at merchant sites. MasterPass now acts as a digital wallet that securely stores payment details such as credit and debit card information, billing addresses, and so on in the cloud. All the eshopper needs to do is click on “Buy With MasterPass” as the checkout option.

“Singapore is already an evolved market for digital payments, and we continue to see great potential for ecommerce growth,” says Julienne Loh, general manager of MasterCard Singapore.

MasterPass was first launched in February 2013, and Singapore is the first in Southeast Asia to get to try it out. Already several online merchants have started accepting MasterPass, such as Luxola, Shaw Theatres, Singapore Airlines, and Singapore Airlines KrisShop Online. These merchants will undoubtedly be the first of many in Asia who will join the other 40,000 merchants around the world who currently accept the option to make online payments with MasterPass.

Several payment technology providers, such as AsiaPay, eNETS, MC Payment, Red Dot Payment, and WireCard have also come on board and made MasterPass available for all their merchants.

“The growth in ecommerce means that consumers are constantly on the lookout for simpler but no less secure shopping experiences,” points out Ang Sok Hong, senior vice president of sales at NETS.

Shoppers can expect MasterPass to work with other emerging technologies in the future, such as NFC and QR codes for in-store purchases. MasterPass will also be looking to add other value-added services like real-time alerts, account balances, purchase history, loyalty programs, as well as offers and experiences.

2. Dash

3. Pay Anyone

4. PayLah