Singapore Ready for Mobile Payments in 2016

04/26/2016

Singaporeans are ready to make payments via their mobile phones when the various mobile payments such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and AndroidPay roll out in Singapore. Today, Singapore is one of the leading markets in the world for contactless payments, with more than 4 million Visa payWave transactions made in a month. More than one in three Singaporeans use Visa payWave for face-to-face transactions and the penetration is even higher in supermarkets, where more than half the cashless transactions for Visa are contactless.

“The payments landscape in Singapore has undergone tremendous changes and consumers here are preferring alternative payment methods over cash. This embrace of contactless payments is paving the way for new payments innovation such as mobile wallets. More importantly, the infrastructure for mobile payments is the same as contactless payments. Hence, given that Singapore is already well placed in terms of the contactless payment terminals, we believe that Singapore is ready to embrace mobile payments when they are introduced in Singapore.” said Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei.

Visa tokenization securing mobile payments
Mobile payments such as ApplePay and Samsung Pay can be used at all terminals where Visa payWave is accepted and the technology behind it is supported by Visa Token Service. Visa Token Service replaces sensitive payment account information such as the 16-digit account number, expiration date and security code, with a unique digital identifier or “token” that can be used to process payments without exposing actual account details.

“Consumers and merchants will choose the platform which can provide a safe, simple, easy, and reliable way to pay and be paid.  As with security and convenience, payments veterans and regulators used to hold the belief that speed and security are on the opposite ends of the spectrum but mobile payments have proven them wrong. Combining Visa’s expertise in payment technology with the leadership of various mobile payment providers in creating innovative mobile experiences gives more choice to financial institutions who want to enable their customers to pay with the new generation of mobile devices,” said Matt Dill, Head of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at Visa.

Singaporeans’ preference for using mobile to pay
Visa’s 2015 Consumer Payment Attitudes Survey showed that 58 percent of Singapore consumers would prefer making in-store purchases with mobile wallets such as Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Android Pay, rather than cash. Survey respondents cited faster transactions (71 per cent), ease of use (55 per cent) and no need to have cash on hand (47 per cent) as the top reasons for preferring payment with mobile devices over cash.

High smartphone penetration rates in Singapore has also facilitated the move to mobile payments. Against this background, and with the introduction of new payments technology designed to amplify mobile shopping security such as tokenization, Visa expects fewer barriers to uptake when mobile payments are launched in the market.

“Mobile devices are ubiquitous in Singapore, and for many consumers, they are very familiar with using their smart mobile devices for a number of everyday functions, including making taxi bookings, ordering food and shopping. As smart mobile devices increasingly become an integral part of our daily lives, replacing wallets full of cash with a fast, convenient and secure mobile device will continue to grow in popularity,” Tyng said.

 

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.