Singapore-India cross-border payment service PayNow-UPI launch: Cross-border remittances up to INR60k using mobile banking app or internet banking

The Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the PayNow-UPI linkage – the real-time payments systems linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – where DBS Bank is the first and only participating bank from Singapore.

From today, PayNow-UPI will be progressively rolled out to familiarise DBS/POSB customers with the new service. For a start, selected DBS/POSB customers can use PayNow-UPI to transfer funds of up to SG$200 per transaction, capped at SG$500 per day. By 31 March 2023, the service will be extended to all customers who can transfer funds of up to SG$1,000 a day.

With India being one of DBS’ biggest markets for overseas remittances, this is a welcome addition to our wide-ranging suite of payment solutions for SMEs, retail customers and especially migrant workers, who now have another convenient option to send money to their loved ones back home

Shee Tse Koon, Singapore Country Head, DBS Bank

Shee Tse Koon, Singapore Country Head, DBS Bank, said, “We are pleased to be part of this momentous partnership between Singapore and India to launch the new PayNow-UPI linkage. As the world becomes increasingly globalised and interconnected, we believe in collectively harnessing technology to expand access to fast and seamless cross-border payment services. With India being one of DBS’ biggest markets for overseas remittances, this is a welcome addition to our wide-ranging suite of payment solutions for SMEs, retail customers and especially migrant workers, who now have another convenient option to send money to their loved ones back home.”

Currently, DBS/POSB customers are able to make overseas payments and funds transfers across more than 200 destinations via a wide range of DBS payments solutions, including:

–       DBS Remit: Overseas remittances with no transfer fee

–       Outward Telegraphic transfer: Overseas funds transfers online

–       PayNow-PromptPay linkage: Real-time funds transfers between Singapore and Thailand via PayNow

–       Scan to Pay with DBS PayLah!: Scan to pay both locally and overseas at over 40 million acceptance points worldwide

These solutions have been growing in popularity over the years, serving the remittance and payments needs across markets and communities. DBS Remit continues to appeal to migrant workers and migrant domestic workers in Singapore – in 2022, the total value of remittances made by the migrant worker community grew 25% year-on-year. DBS Remit also attracted 63% more new customers who remitted funds to India in 2022 compared to 2021.

Usage of DBS PayLah! Overseas has also grown over the past year due to easing cross-border travel restrictions and travel spending returning to pre-pandemic levels in most markets. Since August 2022, DBS PayLah! users have been making QR payments instead of traditional cash payments at more than 8 million Scan to Pay acceptance points in Thailand, including at BTS sky trains, convenience stores and weekend/night markets. The number of transactions has tripled since the launch.

Since its launch in May 2021, the PayNow-PromptPay fund’s transfer service has also gained traction. By the end of 2022, the number of PayNow-PromptPay transactions and customers quadrupled.

Mandar Agashe, MD, Sarvatra Technologies ltd., says the launch of cross-border payment linkage between India and Singapore to enable real-time transfer of funds is a much-awaited development.

The UPI-PayNow linkage is a new chapter on taking UPI global and driving the goal of financial inclusion by enabling faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments

Mandar Agashe, MD, Sarvatra Technologies ltd

“With this facility, funds held in bank accounts or e-wallets can be transferred to / from India using just the UPI ID, mobile number, or VPA. It will eliminate the need for having to enter the details of beneficiary, such as bank account number, bank code etc. In order to add a beneficiary to initiate first-time transfer of funds usually takes several hours for activation of services.

“However, with this payment facility, both inward and outward remittances will happen instantly with just a VPA or UPI ID. To begin with, a few banks have been selected from India and Singapore to offer this facility. Customers of these banks will be able to undertake cross-border remittances to using the bank’s mobile banking app / internet banking. Currently, RBI has put a per day transfer limit for Indian users of INR60,000 (equivalent to around SGD 1,000), which may be revised later. The UPI-PayNow linkage is a new chapter on taking UPI global and driving the goal of financial inclusion by enabling faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments.”