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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have announced the creation of a new entity to oversee and govern the country’s national payment schemes. 

The move,  on February 12, is intended to deliver better coordination, decision-making and innovation in Singapore’s payments ecosystem as it enters its next phase of growth, and echoes the systems set up in countries such as Paynet in Malaysia and the UK’s Pay.UK. 

As things stand, national payment schemes such as Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST), the Inter-bank GIRO System, PayNow and the Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) operate under various administrators.

These include the MAS, ABS, the Singapore Clearing House Association (SCHA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). 

“By channelling the payments industry’s resources and expertise into a single entity, this initiative will strengthen existing capabilities in the oversight of resilience and safety of the payment schemes and ensure consistent implementation of national e-payment strategies across the various payment schemes,” said Jacqueline Loh, SCHA chair and deputy managing director of the MAS.

“SCHA is committed to see through the smooth transition to the new entity.”

Leong Der Yao, assistant chief executive of IMDA, also greeted the news with enthusiasm: “The transfer of SGQR scheme administration and governance, along with other payment schemes, to the new single entity will streamline the local payments landscape, delivering a more seamless experience for businesses and consumers. This transition will also open doors for greater collaborations with international digital wallets and financial institutions.”

A streamlined approach

The consolidation of multiple schemes under a single entity is intended to streamline administration and governance, and to allow financial institutions and payment service providers (PSPs) to capitalise on new opportunities in global payments.

“Consolidating the administrative and governance responsibilities of all national payment schemes under a single entity will strengthen the governance of these schemes and contribute towards greater payments resilience and innovation,” said Chia Der Jiun, managing director of the MAS.

The new entity will be governed by senior representatives from the MAS and the financial services industry, who will provide strategic direction to the entity’s management team. 

Industry committees will be formed under the new entity to engage banks, PSPs and key user groups such as industry and business associations to support strategy development. 

Despite the structural alterations, the MAS has stated that there will be no changes to the operations and scheme rules of the national payment schemes as they are consolidated under the new entity. 

Further details on the entity name, governance structure and board composition will be announced later this year.

“ABS and member banks look forward to working closely with the industry to achieve Singapore’s goal as a Smart Financial Centre,” said Piyush Gupta, ABS chair.

“The new payments entity will enable us to rationalise our various payment rails, as well as provide a springboard to leverage technology in imagining the future of payments.”