Retail Asia 2018 RA September.October 2018 (Online) | Page 15

NEWS
Singapore rolls out ’world’s first‘
unified payment QR Code
THE Singapore Quick Response Code
(SGQR) was officially launched in
September by Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s
Minister for Education and Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS) Board
Member.
Cited to be the first of its kind
globally, SGQR combines multiple
payment QR codes into a single SGQR
label, making QR code-based mobile
payments simple for consumers and
merchants. SGQR will be adopted by 27
payment schemes — including PayNow,
NETS, GrabPay, Liquid Pay and
Singtel DASH — and will be deployed
progressively over the next six months.
Consumers will be able to see if their
preferred QR payment option appears
on the merchant’s SGQR label to make
swift and safe payments. To pay by
SGQR, consumers have to:
n “Pick” their preferred payment
scheme from the accepted options, and
login to the relevant payment app;
n “Scan” the SGQR code; and
n “Pay” the amount required.
With the consolidation of QR
codes, MAS said merchant will only
need to display a single SGQR label
showing the e-payments it accepts. This
means less clutter on the store front
and quicker payments processing. The
addition of new QR payments options,
both domestic and international, is also
streamlined into the single SGQR label.
SGQR does not require a terminal, so
it is a cheaper way to accept various
e-payment options, according to the
central bank of Singapore
Merchants who currently offer QR
code payments will have their existing
QR codes replaced with a single SGQR
label over the next six months. The
first phase of SGQR label replacement,
starting with merchants in the Central
Business District, commenced recently
in September.
During the replacement phase of
existing QRs, there will be a transitional
period where some merchants may
still display multiple QR codes, while
others display a single SGQR label.
Consumers can continue to make QR
code payments using the existing QRs
via their usual payment app.
SGQR was developed by an industry
taskforce co-led by MAS and the Info-
communications Media Development
Authority (IMDA). Members of
the taskforce include Singapore and
international payments providers,
who will implement SGQR for their
Singapore merchants.
Commenting on the launch,
Deborah Heng, country manager,
Singapore, Mastercard, said: “Mastercard
has always been an avid proponent
of the safety, simplicity and security of
digital payments. Our close involvement
with the SGQR taskforce to extend the
adoption of our global QR payments
solution into Singapore, builds on our
continued commitment to helping drive
the country’s multi-faceted smart nation
agenda. We have been partners with the
government in enabling Singapore to
stay laser-focused on building a digital
ecosystem and are pleased to be part of
this important milestone with SGQR.” ra
SGQR was developed by an industry taskforce co-led by the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) and the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Retail Asia September/October 2018
13