DBS, OCBC customers can use Google Pay to pay without a credit card from 2020

DBS and OCBC account holders who do not have credit cards will still be able to make instant payments to around 80,000 merchants here next year by using Google Pay.

The tie-up, which involves integrating Google Pay with the funds transfer service PayNow, was announced at the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) on Monday (Nov 11).

PayNow is a digital funds transfer service provided by nine banks - including DBS and OCBC - that allows customers here to send and receive money from their bank accounts by using their mobile or NRIC numbers. It was introduced in 2017.

The new service will allow DBS and OCBC customers to transfer funds via Google Pay. The banks said the service will be tested in trials early next year with the aim of rolling it out in full later in the year.

It works by linking a user's bank account to the Google Pay smartphone app so payments will be directly debited without needing a card.

Payment via Google Pay is usually made in two ways. In physical stores, customers hold their smartphone above a contactless reader that interacts with the Google Pay app.

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Paying for an online purchase is made simply by pressing the Google Pay button when checking out on websites or apps that offer the option as a payment method.

Google Pay users here had previously only been able to use the tech giant's e-wallet to pay merchants with their credit cards. The same is true for users of other prominent e-wallets such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

OCBC chief operating officer Ching Wei Hong said the new tie-up reduces the hassle for customers in accessing funds in their bank accounts.

"In today's digital world, building ecosystems of partnerships and going beyond traditional banking products is critical," he added.

OCBC customers can sign up at the bank's booth at the SFF in Singapore Expo to join the wait-list for trials that begin in January. The festival ends on Friday.

The move is the latest in a national effort to make going cashless more convenient by addressing the fragmented e-payments landscape, where consumers and merchants can end up bogged down by the large variety of payment options available.

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The Land Transport Authority said earlier this month that commuters will be able to pay for public transport rides with their Nets contactless bank cards from Nov 16.

Mastercard and Visa users can pay for train and bus trips by tapping their credit cards or mobile phones.

The first phase of a push to bring cashless payments to Singapore's 12,000 hawker stalls under a unified system was completed in June.

The system, provided by Nets, unifies payments from 23 providers so customers can use different cashless payment options at a single payment terminal at a food outlet.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.