DIRECT TRANSFERS ENABLED BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE
In March, Malaysia and Singapore launched a QR code payment linkage which enabled customers to make cross-border payments to merchants using Singapore’s PayNow and Malaysia’s DuitNow.
On Friday, MAS and BNM announced that users of these payment services would now be able to make person-to-person cross-border funds transfers using mobile numbers and virtual payment addresses.
Customers of participating financial institutions can send and receive up to S$1,000 (US$744) or RM3,000 in this manner daily.
“The PayNow-DuitNow linkage enables instant, secure and cost-effective person-to-person fund transfers and remittances between the two countries,” MAS and BNM said.
“This real-time payment systems linkage is also the first to include the participation of non-bank financial institutions from both countries, providing access to a broader group of users.”
The participants from Singapore are Liquid Group, Maybank Singapore, OCBC and UOB, while the participants from Malaysia are CIMB, Maybank and TNG Digital. They will eventually be joined by Singapore’s DBS and Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank.
MAS and BNM described the linkage as “an important milestone in improving the cost, speed, access and transparency of cross-border payments”.
According to the central banks, S$2.3 billion in person-to-person and remittance transactions were made between the two countries last year.
“The PayNow-DuitNow linkage is the culmination of a shared aspiration by Singapore and Malaysia to facilitate cross-border payments between the two countries,” Mr Menon said.
“This linkage represents another step towards ASEAN’s vision for regional payments interconnectivity.”
BNM governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour added: “Cross-border payments that are fast, secure and cost-efficient can provide immense benefits, especially for individuals and small businesses in countries with very close economic ties such as Malaysia and Singapore.
“The PayNow-DuitNow linkage enables us to reap these benefits towards our shared growth and prosperity while laying the foundations for scalable cross-border payment networks across and beyond ASEAN.”
Source: CNA
