NETWORK for Electronic Transfers (Nets) and Liquid Group have each announced plans to expand their services based on the interoperable Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR+) system.

On Thursday (Nov 7), Nets announced that it would roll out the system to acceptance points across Singapore, while Liquid announced plans to launch its cross-border QR payments initiative by Q4 2024.

The two local e-payment service providers said their developments build on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) SGQR+ successful proof of concept (POC).

SGQR was first introduced in 2018 by MAS to consolidate multiple payment QR codes under a single label.

In November 2023, the central bank conducted its SGQR+ POC to enable interoperability of payment systems, so that Singapore merchants can accept QR payments from various payment systems with a single acquiring merchant.

During the POC from November 1 to November 30, 2023, consumers could make payments using partner apps from Liquid as the switching operator – or Nets as the primary merchant acquirer.

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Island-wide deployment

In Nets’ next commercial rollout of SGQR+, the program will be available at 24,000 acceptance points islandwide. SGQR+ issuer portfolios will also be expanded to the hawker segment, bringing the total acceptance points to 35,000.

The island-wide rollout will see three new issuers – dtcpay, Maribank and Maybank – join the group, bringing the total number of payment systems and issuers to 18.

Once the “technical” phase of the program is complete – during which SGQR+ will become fully operational in a production environment – ​​by Q4 2024, customers of existing issuers, including Maybank, will be able to make payments to participating merchants . MariBank and dtcpay customers could do the same by the second quarter of 2025.

“With Nets, each merchant only needs one merchant agreement to accept payments from multiple domestic and inbound payment options. It also gives them access to a wider customer base and allows merchants and consumers to transact more easily, efficiently and securely,” commented Lawrence Chan, Group Managing Director.

Nets also said it sees the potential for SGQR+ to integrate with various payment systems regionally, expand consumer options and improve network connectivity.

QR payment switching solution

Separately, Liquid announced plans to launch roamQR – a QR payment transfer solution that routes payment transactions between multiple acquirers and payment service providers – to support cross-border payments.

Dubbed by the group as “the next phase of SGQR+”, roamQR’s launch in Singapore is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of this year before expanding domestically and internationally by the first quarter of 2025.

The interoperable switch was developed in collaboration with Liquid’s industry partners and is expected to ultimately connect more than 50,000 merchants in Singapore and more than 50 million globally.

Liquid said roamQR will improve interoperability between local and international e-wallets, mobile payment apps, merchant acquirers and domestic QR networks in 11 international markets, including Japan, China and Brazil.

In particular, it will support both “push” e-money transactions and “pull” QR payments linked to card systems.

In a push transaction, a transfer of funds is initiated by a payer to the payee, for example by sending the payee an amount of money via an electronic funds transfer.

A pull payment is a merchant-initiated transaction in which the payee sends a request to automatically collect a specified amount, with the payer providing authorization for the funds to be debited.

“By serving as a switch, we enable connections between various e-wallets, merchant acquirers and national networks, allowing anyone to participate and be recognized within the network,” said Jeremy Tan, CEO of Liquid.

“This many-to-many approach fosters competition, driving improvements and innovation that benefit both consumers and merchants,” he added.