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Payments/SG/fast

FAST

FAST (Fast And Secure Transfers) is Singapore's instant bank transfer: you type the recipient's bank or e-wallet account number into your banking app, and Singapore dollars arrive "almost immediately", 24×7 [2]. It has run since 17 March 2014 and now links 32 bank entries and 7 e-wallet firms [2]. The industry cap is S$200,000 per transfer [3]. FAST has no QR code of its own: when you pay by PayNow or scan a PayNow QR, the money moves over FAST [11].
Country Singapore (SG)
What it is The interbank instant transfer rail for Singapore dollars, addressed by account number
Banks and providers 32 bank entries, from Anext Bank to UOB, and 7 NFIs (GPay Network, Liquid Group, MatchMove Pay, NIUM, SingCash, Wise Asia-Pacific, Xfers), as of 7 Jul 2026 [2]
Since 17 Mar 2014 (banks); 8 Feb 2021 (non-bank e-wallet firms) [2]
Cost to send Set by each bank [3]; $0 at DBS for personal customers [12]; S$0.50 per business payment at OCBC and UOB [18] [17]
Typical limit S$200,000 per transaction industry cap [3]; bank defaults of S$1,000 (DBS) or S$5,000 (UOB) a day [13] [16]
Reaches Accounts in Singapore only, in SGD; no transfers overseas [3]
Code on paper? No. FAST needs an account number; a QR code on a Singapore bill is a PayNow QR, which settles over FAST

How FAST came to Singapore

Before FAST, moving money between accounts at different banks "could take up to three working days" [3]. The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced the new rail, and its FAST page still carries the launch releases and the current fact sheet and FAQ [1]:

  • 17 March 2014: launch with 14 banks. ANZ, CIMB, Citibank, DBS/POSB, Deutsche Bank, Far Eastern Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, RHB, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, SMBC and UOB went live at 8.00 am [4]. More than 33,000 transactions worth S$64 million went through in the first two days [5].
  • 8 May 2015: limit raised from $10,000 to $50,000 per transaction, because corporate users asked for it. FAST was then carrying over 1 million transactions a month [6].
  • 18 September 2015: 19 banks. Bank of China, BNP Paribas, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Hong Leong Bank and Mizuho joined; 18 million transactions had been made since launch [7].
  • 10 July 2017: PayNow on top. PayNow lets you send through FAST with a mobile number, NRIC/FIN or VPA instead of an account number [11]. By Jul–Sep 2020 FAST averaged more than 12.5 million transactions a month, and PayNow made up almost half of them [9].
  • 8 February 2021: e-wallets join. MAS announced in November 2020 that licensed major payment institutions could connect directly, through an API payment gateway built by a working group of BCS, ABS, eight banks and six e-wallet firms [9]. The first went live on 8 February 2021 [2].
  • 27 August 2026: Hong Leong Finance is listed as the next participant, effective that day [2].

FAST is governed by the Singapore Clearing House Association (SCHA), while ABS governs PayNow [9]. Banking Computer Services (BCS) calls itself "the operator of FAST and PayNow" [9]. MAS designates FAST a system-wide important payment system [8].

Usage, from MAS's retail payment statistics [10]:

Year Transactions Value Average size
2024 500 million S$661.7 billion S$1,323
2025 642 million S$797.7 billion S$1,242

How to use it

  1. Who can use it: anyone with a savings or current account at a participating bank, or an e-wallet account at a participating NFI [3]. Most banks allow FAST only between savings and current accounts; the ABS fact sheet lists the exceptions, such as credit card or credit-line accounts at some banks [2].
  2. What you need: the recipient's name and their bank or e-wallet account number. The name is "for reference purposes only": the money goes to the number you type [3]. Type numbers only, no dashes or spaces; the fact sheet gives each bank's account-number length, for example 10 digits at DBS and 9 at POSB [2].
  3. Send: in DBS digibank, tap Pay & Transfer, then Local transfer, choose the recipient, enter the amount and purpose, and confirm. Transfers to FAST banks go over FAST automatically [12]. OCBC also offers FAST at its ATMs [14], as does UOB [15].
  4. Receive: give the payer your bank's name and your account number. UOB tells business customers to share the bank name, its SWIFT BIC and the 10-digit account number [17]. Check your app or alerts for the credit [3].

FAST itself has no "request money" step. For that, or to pay without an account number, use PayNow, which still runs over FAST [11].

Hours: most banks and NFIs offer FAST 24×7, but some banks give a transfer made after a cut-off time, or on a non-business day, the next business day as its value date [3].

Sent it to the wrong account? Tell your bank at once. It will chase the receiving bank to return the money, and may ask you to file a police report [3].

Limits and fees

The industry cap is S$200,000 per transaction; your bank's daily, monthly or annual limits apply on top, and fees are each bank's commercial decision [3]. As the three big banks publish them:

DBS / POSB OCBC UOB
Default daily limit to other banks S$1,000 [13] — S$5,000 (S$10,000 for Privilege and Private Banking) [16]
Maximum you can set S$200,000 a day [13] S$100,000 per transaction (Premier Banking: S$200,000) [14] S$200,000 [16]
At the ATM — S$5,000 a day, S$25,000 a month [14] Available [15]
Waiting time after raising the limit 12 hours [13] — 12 hours, since Dec 2024 [15]
Fee, personal $0 [12] — —
Fee, business — S$0.50 per FAST payment or collection [18] S$0.50 per item via UOB Infinity or the UOB SME app [17]

At DBS the same "to other banks" limit also covers PayNow and PayNow QR payments [13]. At UOB, transfers to a newly added payee wait 12 hours, and transfers above S$5,000 to an existing payee need extra signing [16]. OCBC caps FAST transfers to the e-wallets it lists at S$5,000 per transaction [14]. OCBC's business pricing guide includes a package with the first 80 FAST payments a month free [18].

Limits change; check your bank's current terms.

Paying shops and businesses

FAST is built for transfers to an account, so in shops you meet it mostly through PayNow QR (see below). For businesses it is a payment and collection channel:

  • Paying suppliers and staff. ABS raised the limit in 2015 for corporate users' needs [6]. UOB lets businesses send FAST payments from UOB Infinity or its SME app, by file transfer, or through its APIs [17].
  • Collecting. MAS notes that "some participating banks may also offer collection of payment via FAST" [8]; OCBC prices "FAST (Payment and Collection)" for business accounts [18].
  • E-wallet merchants. Since NFIs joined, businesses on a closed e-wallet can receive real-time payments from users of other e-wallets and banking apps, MAS said in 2020 [9].
  • Online checkout. Paying a web shop by PayNow QR still means saving the QR image and uploading it in your bank app. On 25 June 2026 MAS and ABS said they would look to add deep links within a year [22].

Paying across borders

FAST itself is domestic: it moves Singapore dollars between accounts in Singapore and cannot send to an account overseas [3]. Cross-border instant payments go through PayNow's links, which BCS, "the operator of PayNow and FAST" [19], builds with the partner country's operator:

  • Thailand (PromptPay), 29 April 2021, by mobile number [19].
  • India (UPI), February 2023, through gateways built by BCS and NIPL [20].
  • Malaysia (DuitNow), November 2023, through gateways built by BCS and PayNet [21].

The fact sheets describe these as PayNow linkages; they don't say how each leg is cleared, so don't assume a FAST account-number transfer can reach these countries.

Is there a FAST QR code in Singapore?

No. FAST defines no code: a FAST transfer is keyed in by account number, and between the banks it travels as ISO 20022 messages to the automated clearing house [8]. See the FAST Singapore standard for the rail itself (and don't confuse it with Türkiye's FAST).

The code you meet in Singapore is the PayNow QR. It is integrated with SGQR, the national QR label, and paying it is a PayNow transfer through FAST [11]. So:

  • A QR on a hawker stall or shop is usually an SGQR label (SGQR standard); if you pay it with PayNow, FAST carries the money.
  • A QR on a Singapore invoice or bill is typically a PayNow QR for the business's UEN (PayNow QR standard) (SG report).
  • An invoice without a QR gives a bank name and account number for you to pay by FAST or GIRO.

The only "code" FAST itself asks for is a four-letter purpose code chosen when you send. UOB lists 46, such as SALA (salary payment), IVPT (invoice payment), RENT and OTHR (other) [15].

Safety: "transfer your money to a safety account"

In Singapore the danger is not a hacked FAST account but being talked into sending the transfer yourself. In 2025, 81.8% of reported scams involved transfers the victims made themselves, and government-official impersonation scams more than doubled to 3,363 cases, with about $242.9 million lost [23]. In the main variant a fake bank officer calls about "suspicious transactions" and passes the victim to a fake official, who accuses them of money laundering and tells them to move money to a "safety account" [23].

  • Officials never ask you to transfer money, or for banking log-ins, over a phone call [23]. Hang up and call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if in doubt [23].
  • Expect a hold on a large transfer. Under the Shared Responsibility Framework, banks must block or hold transfers that rapidly drain a large share of an account for at least 24 hours [24]. The trigger is draining half the account balance, and recurring GIRO and payments to billing organisations are exempt [25]. If someone urges you to get round it, stop.
  • Lower your limit and lock savings. MAS suggests low transfer limits, the bank's kill switch to suspend your account, and MoneyLock for funds that can't be moved digitally [24]. A FAST transfer lands almost instantly, so report a scam to your bank at once [3].

FAST and the alternatives in Singapore

Way to pay Best for Notes
FAST Paying a known account number now, up to S$200,000 Almost immediate, 24×7 [3]; 642 million transfers in 2025 [10]
PayNow / PayNow QR Friends by phone number, shops and invoices by QR Free for retail customers, runs on FAST [11]
Interbank GIRO Recurring bills, large payments to government agencies, banks not on FAST Up to 3 working days [3] [22]; 123 million items, average S$5,743, in 2025 [10]
Cheque Where a payee still asks for one Up to 2 working days [3]; SGD cheques fell to 5.5 million in 2025 [10]
SGQR / SGQR+ Scanning at a shop with the app you have One label for many schemes (SG report)

Sources

  1. ABS, "FAST - Fast and Secure Transfers", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.abs.org.sg/consumer-banking/fast
  2. ABS, "Fast And Secure Transfers – Fact Sheet", 7 Jul 2026. https://abs.org.sg/docs/library/2026-07-07-fast-fact-sheet.pdf
  3. ABS, "Fast And Secure Transfers – FAQ", 23 Jul 2026. https://abs.org.sg/docs/library/fast-faq---23-jul-2026.pdf
  4. ABS, "New Electronic Funds Transfer Service, "FAST", Launching in Singapore on 17 March 2014", 10 Mar 2014. https://www.abs.org.sg/docs/library/media_release_fast_web_20140310.pdf
  5. ABS, "Successful Launch of New Electronic Funds Transfer Service, "FAST"", 19 Mar 2014. https://www.abs.org.sg/docs/library/media_release_fast_web_20140319.pdf
  6. ABS, "Increase in Transaction Limit for FAST", 5 May 2015. https://www.abs.org.sg/docs/library/mediarelease_20150505.pdf
  7. ABS, "Five More Banks to Offer FAST", 17 Sep 2015. https://www.abs.org.sg/docs/library/mediarelease_20150917.pdf
  8. MAS, "Payment Systems", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/payments/payment-systems
  9. MAS, "Non-Bank Financial Institutions to have Access to FAST and PayNow", 30 Nov 2020. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2020/non-bank-financial-institutions-to-have-access-to-fast-and-paynow
  10. MAS, "H2 2025 Retail Payment Statistics for Selected Payment Systems and Industries in Singapore", 7 May 2026. https://www.mas.gov.sg/-/media/mas-media-library/statistics/payment-statistics/semi-annual-retail-payment-statistics/retail-payment-statistics-h2-2025.pdf
  11. ABS, "PayNow: Fact Sheet", Jun 2026. https://abs.org.sg/docs/library/paynow-fact-sheet-2026.pdf?sfvrsn=8d25d96f_1
  12. DBS, "Transfer Funds to Other Bank Accounts in Singapore", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/support/bank-local-funds-transfer-transfer-to-other-bank-accounts.html
  13. DBS, "Change Local Funds Transfer Limits", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/support/bank-local-funds-transfer-change-funds-transfer-limit.html
  14. OCBC, "FAST | Instant funds transfer", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/digital-banking/fast-instant-transfer
  15. UOB, "FAST", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.uob.com.sg/personal/digital-banking/fast.page
  16. UOB, "Digital Payments" (UOB TMRW payments FAQ), read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.uob.com.sg/personal/digital-banking/uob-tmrw/faqs-payments.page
  17. UOB, "Fast and Secure Transfers" (UOB Business), read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.uob.com.sg/business/transact/payments/fast.page
  18. OCBC, "Business Banking Pricing Guide", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.ocbc.com/business-banking/help-and-support/accounts-and-services/business-pricing-guide
  19. ABS, "PayNow and Thailand's PromptPay complete the world's first faster payment systems linkage", 29 Apr 2021. https://abs.org.sg/docs/library/paynow-and-thailand-s-promptpay-complete-the-world-s-first-faster-payment-systems-linkage.pdf
  20. ABS, "PayNow-UPI Linkage – Fact Sheet", 21 Feb 2023. https://abs.org.sg/docs/library/pnupi-factsheet-v1-0.pdf
  21. ABS, "PayNow-DuitNow Linkage – Fact Sheet", 17 Nov 2023. https://abs.org.sg/docs/library/pndn-factsheet.pdf
  22. MAS, "MAS and ABS Chart Instant Payments Enhancements with PayNow Generation 2 Study", 25 Jun 2026. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2026/mas-and-abs-chart-instant-payments-enhancements-with-paynow-generation-2-study
  23. Singapore Police Force, "Annual Scam and Cybercrime Brief 2025", 12 Mar 2026. https://www.police.gov.sg/-/media/SPF/Advisories/Scams/Annual-Scam-and-Cybercrime-Brief-2025.pdf
  24. MAS, "Written reply to Parliamentary Questions on the Shared Responsibility Framework and real-time fraud detection standards expected of financial institutions in Singapore", 3 Feb 2026. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/parliamentary-replies/2026/written-reply-to-pqs-on-srf-and-fraud-surveillance
  25. ABS and MAS, "Joint ABS-MAS response to two letters on delays in banks processing local fund transfers due to anti-scam measures", 27 Nov 2025. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/letters-to-editor/2025/joint-response-to-two-letters-on-delays-in-banks-processing-local-fund-transfers

Researched 19 October 2026. Limits and bank offerings change; the banks' own pages are authoritative.

source · content/payments/SG/fast/index.md