The upgraded SGQR+ onboards more financial institutions, more merchants, more hawkers, and more payment methods. The only missing piece of the puzzle is having more money to spend. Image: NETS.
Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) today announced its plans to roll out an upgraded version of its Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR).
Now called SGQR+, the single QR label will be able to support even more payment methods in more places than before.
Following its proof of concept (POC) announcement 12 months ago, SGQR+ issuer wallets will be extended to the hawker segment, bringing the total number of acceptance points up to 35,000 from the existing 24,000.
Three new issuers are also coming on board, adding more payment methods to the mix: dtcpay, MariBank, and Maybank.
The rollout will be technically live by Q4 2024, although dtcpay and MariBank users will have access only by Q2 2025.
Per the SGQR+ proof of concept (POC) report hosted on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s website, 76% of participating merchants using the older system expressed interest in SGQR+, while 86% of participating financial institutions are keen to upgrade to SGQR+.
The one-month-long POC trial saw 65,204 transactions worth S$1.29 million across all participating acceptance points.
The announcement was also timed to coincide with Singapore Fintech Festival 2024.
What has changed?
The change to SGQR+ benefits merchants by reducing the administrative work needed to accept digital QR payments. It also makes it less frustrating for consumers and shoppers who have fragmented payment options across several dozen.
In its original 2018 form, SGQR consolidated payment QR codes into a single label. However, merchants still had to create and maintain a commercial relationship with individual financial institutions and the payment modes they carry. For example, it wasn’t until 2020 that EZ-Link was compatible with SGQR, and it still relied on merchants to accept that payment method.
That meant that every SGQR code, while universal, was not entirely consistent across shops. The Q4 2024 upgrade to SGQR+ changes that.
Now, merchants in Singapore can accept QR payments using a wider range of payment methods, which can be consolidated through a single merchant acquirer. Instead of the merchant having to pair up with financial institutions, the single acquirer maintains the commercial relationship with payment providers.
In return, shoppers and consumers would be less likely to encounter SGQR+ codes without their preferred payment method, since there is more consistency across these QR codes.
In its current form, SGQR already supports cross-border payments (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand) and its existing breadth of local payment options.
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