• Person-to-person (P2P) cross-border fund transfers are now enabled via DuitNow and PayNow
• Users can transfer funds instantly between the two countries by using just the recipient’s mobile phone number or Virtual Payment Address (VPA)^[1]

BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (fifth from left) and MAS Managing Director Mr Ravi Menon (sixth from left) at the launch of the cross-border real-time payment systems connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore, accompanied by officials and industry players.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have jointly launched the real-time payment systems linkage between Malaysia’s DuitNow and Singapore’s PayNow. The initiative follows the QR payment linkage announced on 31 March 2023 which enabled cross-border QR payments to merchants. BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour and MAS Managing Director Mr Ravi Menon marked the launch by executing live cross-border fund transfers to each other at the Singapore FinTech Festival today.

The DuitNow-PayNow linkage enables instant, secure and cost-effective P2P fund transfers and remittances between the two countries. 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. Consumers of participating financial institutions^[2] are now able to send and receive funds of up to RM3,000 or S$1,000 daily by using the recipient’s mobile phone number or VPA.

For users in Malaysia, the service will first be available for all Maybank, CIMB and TNG Digital’s users,^[3] with other financial institutions gradually onboarded thereafter. The service will be made available to Singapore customers of Liquid Group, Maybank Singapore, OCBC and UOB under a phased approach, where these institutions will progressively increase the number of eligible user groups from today until end-January 2024. This is to support customers' familiarisation with the service.

The DuitNow-PayNow linkage is an outcome of extensive collaboration among the central banks, payment system operators,^[4] scheme owners, and participating financial institutions of both countries. It is an important milestone in improving the cost, speed, access and transparency of cross-border payments. Users from both countries will benefit from the linkage’s cost-effectiveness, inclusivity and accessibility. It is also aligned with the objectives of the ASEAN Payment Connectivity Initiative and the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments. In 2022, P2P and remittance transactions between the two countries stood at RM7.8 billion/S$2.3 billion.

BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said, “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 DuitNow-PayNow 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.”

MAS Managing Director Mr Ravi Menon said, “The PayNow-DuitNow linkage is the culmination of a shared aspiration by Singapore and Malaysia to facilitate cross-border payments between our two countries. This linkage represents another step toward ASEAN’s vision for regional payments interconnectivity.”

[1] A Virtual Payment Address is an identifier used by Singapore non-bank financial institutions which are uniquely linked to a person’s bank account. An example of a LiquidPay VPA is +651234567#XNAP.

[2] Participants from Malaysia are CIMB Bank Malaysia Berhad, Malayan Banking Berhad and TNG Digital Sdn. Bhd. (non-bank financial institution). Participants from Singapore are Liquid Group (non-bank financial institution), Maybank Singapore, OCBC and UOB. Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank Berhad and Singapore’s DBS will join at a later stage.

[3] For TNG Digital users, the service will be offered on a phased approach with outbound service (i.e., Malaysia to Singapore) to be available immediately and inbound service (Singapore to Malaysia) to be offered in December 2023.

[4] Payments Network Malaysia and Singapore’s Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd.

Bank Negara Malaysia
17 November 2023