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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 starting in February 2021.
MAS said that NFIs that are licensed as primary payment institutions under the Payment Services Act will be able to connect directly to Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST). FAST is an electronic funds transfer service that enables customers of participating entities to transfer funds in Singapore dollars from one entity to another instantly.
FAST is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. and PayNow. PayNow is an overlay central routing service that runs on top of the FAST payment system.
Direct connection to FAST and PayNow will allow NFI e-wallet users to make real-time fund transfers between bank accounts and e-wallets, as well as between different e-wallets. Currently, most e-wallets require the use of debit or credit cards to reload funds, and transfers of funds between e-wallets are not possible.
Businesses that partner with 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 e-wallet users or mobile banking apps that will join FAST. or PayNow.
This will allow businesses to access a larger consumer market than before to receive electronic 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 of Singapore (ABS), members of selected banks (Citi Singapore, DBS, Deutsche Bank AG Singapore, HSBC Singapore, Maybank Singapore, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Singapore Limited , UOB) and members of NFI (Grab Financial Group, Liquid Group, MatchMove, Razer Fintech, Singtel Dash, TransferWise)., With guidance from the Singapore Clearing House Association (SCHA) and the Singapore Banks Association ( ABS), which govern FAST and PayNow respectively.
“NFI’s direct access to FAST and PayNow closes the last mile gap in Singapore’s electronic payments journey. Consumers who do not have immediate access to debit or credit cards to fund their e-wallets will now have the option of doing so directly through their bank accounts. Our vision to enable full real-time payment interoperability will now become a reality. The adoption of electronic payments will be even easier for individuals and businesses, ”said Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS. – BusinessNewsAsia.com
