In 2017 Singaporeans will be able to transfer funds to each other without needing to know the recipient's bank account number.
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon revealed this on Friday as he mapped out the regulator's vision for the Republic's payment landscape. He said that Singapore was a first mover in the world when it introduced «Fast», the interbank fund transfer system that allows people to tranfer money to each other instantaneously around the clock.
However, the fact that people have to key in the recipient's bank account numbers has been a barrier to widespread adoption, Menon said.
«So the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has been working hard to develop a central addressing scheme which would allow payments to be made through Fast using only a recipient's mobile number or NRIC number or unique identity number,» he said. «If all goes well, by this time next year, we will no longer need to remember the bank account numbers for a majority of our electronic fund transfers.»
Menon also called on banks to adopt a more accurate pricing model to encourage businesses to use e-payments.
