Customers who want to transfer funds from one bank to another will find it easier with a new initiative by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS).

Under the electronic funds transfer service, customers can transfer funds from one bank to another almost immediately.

It now takes up to three working days to do so, using eGiro or other over-the-counter methods.

The new service, known as FAST or Fast And Secure Transfers, will be launched by the middle of this year.

Customers can transfer up to $10,000 per transaction, subject to daily or monthly withdrawal limits set by individual banks.

So far, 14 banks have signed up to provide the service.

They are: ANZ Bank, CIMB Bank, Citibank, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Far Eastern Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Bank, RHB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank.

ABS said at a briefing on Monday that it will be a commercial decision for the banks on whether to levy a charge or fee for the FAST service.

It expects banks to give more details closer to the launch.