Payment Innovation
Launch of Electronic Deferred Payment (EDP) solutions in mid-2025 and extension of deadline for cessation of corporate cheques
5 December 2024
The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), in partnership with the Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), will be launching two payment solutions in mid-2025 to support the transition to e-payments for both corporate and retail cheque users. Named EDP and EDP+, the new solutions will address the use cases of post-dated payments and transactions requiring greater certainty of payment, respectively.
MAS and the banks have extended the deadline to cease processing of corporate cheques by an additional year to 31 December 2026, giving corporates more time to familiarise themselves with new and existing e-payment modes, as well as for corporates to shift from cheques to EDP and EDP+.
New payments entity to position national payment schemes for next stage of growth
12 February 2025
MAS and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) will set up a new entity to consolidate the administration and governance of Singapore’s national payment schemes, such as Fast And Secure Transfers (FAST), Inter-bank GIRO System, PayNow and Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR), to position these schemes for the next stage of growth. This would enhance coordination and decision-making across national payment schemes, enabling our financial institutions and payment service providers to better harness opportunities in global payments and spur further growth and innovation in Singapore’s payments sector. The entity will also collaborate with MAS on the development of Singapore’s national payments strategy, ensuring a safe, efficient and innovative payments infrastructure.
Establishment of Nexus Global Payments
3 April 2025
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and central bank partners – Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), MAS and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) – completed the comprehensive blueprint for phase three of Project Nexus on 30 June 2024, which is designed to standardise the way domestic instant payment systems (IPS) connect to one another.
BNM, BSP, MAS, BOT and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) subsequently announced on 3 April 2025 the establishment of a new entity in Singapore, Nexus Global Payments (NGP), as the entity that will own and manage the Nexus scheme. The NGP will build and operationalise Nexus to connect the domestic instant payment systems of the five central bank partners.
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) formally joins the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative
8 April 2025
The Central Bank of Cambodia, NBC, joined the RPC initiative, bringing the total number of signatories to nine ASEAN central banks. First established in 2022 by the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, the RPC Initiative has since been expanded to include Vietnam in August 2023, as well as Brunei Darussalam and Lao PDR in February and April 2024 respectively. This underscores its potential for further expansion, including beyond ASEAN, to enhance regional payment connectivity and foster greater financial integration within the region.