Singaporean Faster Payments Service Comes Online Using VocaLink Tech
Singapore’s new ‘Fast’ real-time national payments system, which has the backing of 14 banks in the City state and will allow corporates and consumers to transfer funds immediately – instead of having to wait three days as before – has gone live.
The new payments platform has been built by VocaLink and is based on the technology it used for the UK’s Faster Payments Service (FPS). Local partner BCSIS has assisted with the implementation work on the new Fast platform.
The new Singaporean national payments platform is one of the first instances of VocaLink’s FPS technology being successfully exported elsewhere in the world but is will by no means be the last, with the firm keen to explore export markets. VocaLink has already partnered with several vendors, including Accenture and First Data, to pitch to countries such as Australia, which is seeking to have its own real-time payments system up and running by 2016.
The benefits of such a system to corporate treasurers, in terms of improved payment speeds, cash flow recognition and data rich payment information capabilities are obvious. In the UK, FPS technology was introduced in May 2008 and the service has already processed over three billion payments, with VocaLink adding new services to the platform all the time, such as its planned new Zapp mobile payments venture.
Commenting on the latest Asian launch of the technology, David Yates, chief executive officer (CEO) of VocaLink, said its introduction was part of an ambitious plan to roll out his firm’s immediate payments technology across the globe. “The successful launch of the Fast service in Singapore, in partnership with BCSIS, is therefore a significant milestone,” he said, adding that he expects to reach many other territories in the years ahead.