OCBC Bank has introduced a new feature to its Pay Anyone app, which will allow users to generate their own unique QR codes to receive payments from or send money to other users of the app.

Users have to be registered with PayNow to make use of this feature and it is enabled only on phones with fingerprint recognition.

PayNow, the e-payment system rolled out last Monday by seven participating banks, allows customers to send money to one another using just the recipient's mobile phone or NRIC number. But Pay Anyone app users do not even need each other's mobile phone or NRIC numbers to make such transactions.

OCBC said the feature would come in handy for peer-to-peer e-commerce transactions where sellers and buyers may not want to exchange personal information.

Payees can now create a QR code, which would specify the amount to be paid, and send it via an e-commerce platform, e-mail or social media for the payer to scan and pay.

Alternatively, a payee can meet the payer and have the latter scan the QR code directly on a mobile device to make immediate payment.

The daily transfer limit for payers is $1,000.

Mr Aditya Gupta, OCBC's head of e-Business Singapore, said: "Be it peer-to-peer, in-store or online payment, customers can simply use QR codes, mobile or NRIC numbers - or even Facebook - to pay via the OCBC Pay Anyone app. We believe the recent launch of PayNow is an inflection point for driving cashless payments behaviour in Singapore, and we have integrated that with OCBC Pay Anyone to offer our customers the additional convenience of QR code peer-to-peer payments."

Since PayNow was launched, close to 100,000 people have linked their mobile or NRIC numbers to their personal OCBC Bank accounts to facilitate instant account-to-account transfers.

OCBC's QR code feature can only be used in transactions involving two Pay Anyone app users. To send cash to customers of other banks via PayNow, the Pay Anyone user would still need the recipient's mobile phone or NRIC number.