PayNow App To Be Introduced To Government Services By 2023
The app is simple. You key in the person’s phone number, or NRIC, click send and you’ve paid your dues.
A spokesman at the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) told The Sunday Times that the government is intending to bring that ease of payment to all of its services by 2023.
This means that you will soon be able to pay your bills, fees and fines as you would pay a friend.
Currently, many use the General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO) for recurring payments. The sign up process for GIRO payments is slightly more troublesome than PayNow – which just requires you to enter a number – and the processing can take up to 14 days.
PayNow for disbursements too
On top of being able to pay using the PayNow app, you’ll also be able to receive money through it.
For example, if you’ve won an award that gives you some money or if you’re receiving money from the Central Provident Fund (CPF), you can opt for the money to be funneled into your bank account through PayNow.
How to set up your PayNow
If you haven’t already set up a PayNow, there are 3 ways to do so — by sending an SMS, through your mobile banking app, and through your internet banking website.
Any of those steps will take less than 5 minutes of your time, and they’re all pretty straightforward.
Note: if you’re going to set up the account through SMS, please remember to send the correct SMS based on bank account i.e. DBS, OCBC, etc.
Towards a Smart Nation
The integration of PayNow to government services means less hassle for us. If you want to pay for something, you won’t have to enter your credit card details or fill in forms that take days to process. Instead, just key in a number and send the money.
This move is also another step towards a Smart Nation, where everything is digitalised and made accessible online.
Hopefully, we’ll see a future where payments are seamless.
Featured image from Invest Travel Play.
