The more than 1.9 million online customers of DBS and POSB can now send money from their bank accounts to any Visa card holder worldwide, plugging a gap in the traditional wire transfer or remittance sector today.

Called Visa Personal Payments, the newly-launched service provides instant transfers to more than 200 million Visa credit, debit or prepaid cards worldwide at present.

All senders need is the recipient's name and 16-digit Visa card number. The transfer amount is capped at $2,500 daily.

Recipients can withdraw the amount in local currencies at any ATM with the Visa Plus sign using their credit or debit cards. They can also use the money to offset spendings on their credit cards.

From now until the end of August, senders pay a promotional handling fee of $2.50 to $5 depending on the destination. After that, handling fees will increase to $5 to $10.

DBS said that its rates are cheaper than traditional wire transfer or remittance services. The handling fee for a wire transfer, for instance, varies from $25 to $40 regardless of the amount sent.