Singapore, 10 Aug 2018 - DBS today pledged to keep the cost of adopting digital solutions affordable for SMEs and corporates. With PayNow Corporate going ‘live’ on Monday, 13 August, DBS will be waiving all ‘inward’ PayNow fees for early adopters till 31 December 2019. DBS also expects to register more than 50,000 SMEs by end 2019.

The waiver was introduced to encourage companies to go cashless, paperless and reduce time spent on paper-based administrative tasks. With PayNow Corporate, businesses large and small can expect to receive payments instantly instead of the current time of two working days taken for cheques to be processed and cleared.

PayNow Corporate enables business owners and Government entities to link their Unique Entity Number (UEN) directly to their bank accounts at participating banks^[1]. This will enable them to receive payments without the need to disclose details such as account numbers. To make PayNow payments even simpler and seamless, PayNow QR will be available in conjunction with PayNow Corporate in its upcoming debut in August. With PayNow QR, consumers and businesses will be able to scan the merchant QR code in invoices, websites and many other mediums, to make payments at their convenience and on-the-go.

Ms. Jasmin Ng, Managing Director, Group Transaction Services, DBS Bank said, “Changing perceptions and old habits are the key challenges for many new corporate digital initiatives. We are heartened by the results DBS has seen so far, with adoption rates for digital payment methods on an uptrend among our corporate customers. DBS has seen widespread interest in PayNow Corporate from all segments of our clients including government agencies such as Singapore Land Authority, insurance companies such as AIG as well as leading retailers and F&B chains.”

Powered by IDEAL RAPID APIs, DBS corporate customers have already deployed solutions using PayNow Corporate and PayNow QR code for instant and end-to-end fulfilment. By automating the payment to credit confirmation process for PayNow Corporate, DBS is helping customers to embed PayNow in their business processes, reducing risks, enhancing controls and increasing productivity in the process.

Mr. Tang Kwang Boon, Director, Finance & Corporate Services at Singapore Land Authority said, “SLA is happy to be one of the early adopters of PayNow Corporate to support our nation’s drive towards a Smart cashless society and economy. By availing this additional e-payment mode with strong support from DBS, we seek to bring greater convenience to our customers, as part of our continuous effort to improve service delivery.”

Ms. Claudia Salem, CEO of AIG Singapore and Head of Country Operations Southeast Asia said, “Together with DBS, AIG Singapore pioneered direct payments for travel claims through PayNow this year and this marks another step in our digital transformation journey. We are proud of our joint effort with DBS, and to be the first general insurer to implement end-to-end PayNow capabilities for our travel insurance customers. We have plans to progressively roll out this payment service across our other products and services so that more customers can benefit from this convenient and seamless experience.”

Mr. Ryan Chioh, Managing Director, Far East Flora, said, “Cash flow is the lifeblood of SMEs like us. I’m looking forward to the introduction of Corporate PayNow, because it will increase my cash flow and my team and I can be more productive. We can spend less time on administrative processes and accounts receivables, and more time on developing our business and delivering a better customer experience.”

To prepare customers for the introduction of PayNow Corporate, DBS has engaged with clients over the last 12 months, training close to 1,000 corporate and SME customers. Notably, the investment in time is paying off as there has been a greater acceptance of e-payment solutions such as Giro, FAST, and now PayNow. Today, 92% of all payment transactions carried out by DBS’ corporate customers are done digitally.

Since 2017, DBS has introduced a slew of innovative solutions as well as differentiated pricing structures to speed up electronic payments and funds transfer adoption among its corporate clients.

They range from a complete waiver of monthly charges for usage of its corporate banking platform IDEAL, to dramatically reducing FAST pricing from SGD 5 to a low SGD 0.50. DBS also launched corporate bill payments via IDEAL earlier this year, enabling all its corporate clients to pay bills online. With these offerings, DBS has seen payments via FAST grow by more than 300% and digital payments increase by 25% amongst corporate clients.

DBS was also the first among its peers in Singapore to launch its revolutionary API platform, IDEAL RAPID, creating instant payments and streamlined processes for corporate customers.

^[1] The seven participating banks on PayNow Corporate are DBS, Citibank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered and UOB.

[End]

About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world.

DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, and has been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. The bank has also been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been named “Asia’s Best Bank” by several publications including The Banker, Global Finance, IFR Asia and Euromoney since 2012. In addition, the bank has been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for nine consecutive years from 2009 to 2017.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of its 26,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.