DBS PayLah users will soon be able to use the mobile wallet at close to 10 million UnionPay QR code merchants in 24 countries, including Australia, China, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the United States.

This comes on the back of a memorandum of understanding signed by DBS Bank and China's UnionPay International that will enable more than one million DBS PayLah users to use the e-wallet overseas for cross-border QR code payment.

Ms Tan Su Shan, DBS group head of consumer banking and wealth management, noted that QR code payments are gaining popularity in Singapore, with DBS recording approximately 1.2 million QR code transactions here each month.

She said: "Our partnership with UnionPay International marks an exciting development for the future of e-payments in Singapore. Being able to pay internationally using DBS PayLah QR codes takes us one step closer to our vision of providing a truly universal mobile wallet that can meet consumers' everyday needs, even while they're overseas."

This follows a tie-up by electronic payment network Nets and UnionPay International announced in September. It allows Singapore consumers to use the NetsPay app to make payments at more than 7.5 million UnionPay QR code merchants globally.

Nets, which is owned by Singapore's major local banks, has also enhanced its app to allow fund transfers between NetsPay users via mobile numbers or QR code.