Payouts to employers in the Wage Credit Scheme - a government grant that co-funds pay increases - will go completely cashless from March next year.

The move will mean cheques will no longer be issued.

Instead, all payouts will be credited directly to employers' bank accounts through PayNow Corporate or Giro.

Payouts occur once a year and are calculated based on the total wage increase an employer has given to all its staff the previous year.

Employers do not need to apply to receive payouts.

Eligible ones will receive letters from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) by the end of March that will also inform them how much they will get in payouts.

The Ministry of Finance and Iras have advised employers who do not already have a PayNow Corporate account to set one up or register for Giro early.

Wage Credit Scheme payouts were given to eligible employers through PayNow Corporate for the first time this year.

PayNow Corporate, a cashless fund-transfer service, was launched in August last year to allow businesses to receive funds directly from local accounts at participating banks.

It also lets businesses make and receive payments to and from each other digitally, almost instantly and around the clock.

This can help save time and cut costs.

The Wage Credit Scheme co-funds wage increases for Singaporeans who earn a gross monthly wage of up to $4,000.

Employers can be eligible if they have given Singaporean employees earning this salary a gross monthly wage increase of at least $50 this year, at least $50 last year or 2017, or both.

Employers must also have paid the employees' mandatory Central Provident Fund contributions to the CPF Board by Jan 14 next year.

The Wage Credit Scheme was introduced in 2013 and was originally intended to last three years. It was extended by two years in 2015 and a further three years last year.

This was to support businesses embarking on transformation efforts and to encourage the sharing of productivity gains with workers.

In March, more than 90,000 employers were given more than $600 million in payouts under the scheme. About 70 per cent of the funds went to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Employers who want to check their eligibility or find out more can visit www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/wcs.aspx or contact Iras on 1800-352-4727.