Standard Chartered and Allinpay enable real-time cross-border payments via QR code

Standard Chartered Bank (“the Bank”) and Allinpay Merchants Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd, part of Allinpay International Group (“Allinpay”), announced today their partnership to enable Allinpay merchants in Hong Kong to accept PayNow instant payments in Singapore dollars via QR code. This is the first such solution delivered by a bank and a payment fintech to advance cross-border QR payments in Hong Kong.

Allinpay serves a merchant network of more than 30,000 acceptance points in Hong Kong, offering comprehensive integrated payment solutions including international credit and payment cards, and e-wallets such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.

This latest collaboration will enable Allinpay’s participating merchants in Hong Kong to now accept Singapore PayNow QR payments (both online and at the merchant premises), without the need for any additional technological investment, infrastructure integration or operational changes. Furthermore, this solution unlocks the potential for merchants in Hong Kong to generate incremental revenues from Singapore travellers, with the resumption of normal travel as COVID restrictions ease.

Tay Tiong Hean, General Manager, Allinpay Merchants Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd said: “It is timely to spearhead PayNow QR payments at Hong Kong merchants with the resumption of travel. We are confident that this partnership will offer a real-time and seamless digital payment experience through Allinpay’s integrated platform to truly meet our customers’ needs for better cross-border payments, cost savings and mobile lifestyle.”

This solution is made possible with Standard Chartered’s proprietary solutions including its omnichannel gateway “Straight2Bank Pay” and API-based FX pricing engine “SCALE”.

Ankur Kanwar, Head of Cash Products, Singapore and ASEAN, Standard Chartered Bank said, “Standard Chartered is thrilled to partner Allinpay and bring this collaboration to life. By achieving this crucial milestone to accelerate the greater use of contactless cross- border payments, we’re laying the tracks for a whole new digital world of transactions. With capabilities to access over 20 instant payments infrastructures globally, we look forward to extending this solution to more markets in the future, enabling our fintech partners to deliver a fast and frictionless experience to their merchants and boost the tourism economy.”

Singapore PayNow users can pay their Hong Kong dollar (HKD) purchases instantly in the Singapore dollar (SGD) equivalent amount via PayNow QR code. The SGD-HKD exchange rate is fetched real-time and displayed at the point-of-sale device upon checkout. Once users scan the QR code and execute the SGD-equivalent payments, the funds will be deducted from the user’s SGD bank account in Singapore immediately to complete the transaction.

This solution brings benefits to both customers and merchants. Singapore travellers can now make cashless purchases at participating merchants in Hong Kong, and have the visibility of the exact amount paid in SGD while enjoying savings in FX conversion and administration fees. Hong Kong merchants which accept PayNow payments will not be subjected to credit card transaction charges and get to reduce their cash handling costs.