Razer Pay, the e-payment platform set up by Singaporean-founded gaming company Razer, will launch in Singapore by the first quarter of next year.
This comes after Razer Pay was rolled out in Malaysia in July.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Razer co-founder and chief executive Tan Min-Liang said the company had a year ago committed - in an e-payment proposal to the Singapore Government - to spearhead support for an e-payment solution for Singapore.
This solution could be run by "any third-party e-payment provider that is already gaining traction", Razer had said.
In the event there was no viable third-party e-payment provider, it would launch Razer Pay, which will be funded and run by Razer, with a view to issuing one million wallets in Singapore by April next year, Razer said in its proposal.
In the Facebook update, Mr Tan said: "As we do not see any third-party consumer e-payment provider that is gaining traction, we plan to launch Razer Pay in Singapore by Q1 2019."
Mr Tan said that while Singapore had in the last year introduced various e-payment initiatives, including SG QR and PayNow Corporate, the country has "hardly become a cashless economy".
In the meantime, Razer has made a few moves in the area of cashless transactions. These include acquiring South-east Asia-focused e-payment network MOL for US$100 million (S$138 million), partnering telco giant Singtel to create a regional e-payment network, and working with United Overseas Bank to pioneer a non-bank, e-wallet app to offer both transfers and cash-outs through Fast, he said.
Fast - short for fast and secure transfers - is an electronic fund transfer service that enables customers of participating banks to transfer Singapore dollars from one bank to another in the Republic almost instantly.
In July, Razer launched Razer Pay in Malaysia; there are more than 6,000 acceptance points at major retail and food and beverage outlets. Razer Pay has since become one of the largest e-payment wallets in Malaysia, said Mr Tan.
Razer is seeking interested users and merchants for Razer Pay, and hiring for the Razer Pay team.
Other options
PayNow
Instead of a bank account number, this instant fund-transfer system allows users to transfer money by entering the recipient's mobile phone or identity card number in any banking app such as DBS PayLah, UOB Mighty and OCBC Pay Anyone.
Customers can also make transfers by scanning a QR code with a bank app. PayNow Corporate, launched last month, aids cashless payments between businesses.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay users can make purchases with devices such as their iPhones or Apple Watches. Apple Pay can also be used to make single-touch purchases within apps.
GrabPay
Mobile wallet GrabPay can be used for Grab rides, in-store purchases such as food and services, as well as food deliveries via GrabFood. This is typically done by topping up the wallet with credits, which are used for payments in the app.
Nets
The oldest cashless payment scheme in Singapore lets consumers use their ATM cards for direct deductions from their bank accounts. Customers can make payments with their ATM cards or mobile devices at more than 102,000 acceptance points in the country as well as online.
Seow Bei Yi
