Visitors can soon scan and pay with Wise app in Singapore

S’pore will be the first country to get the feature, with other markets to follow

- Prisca Ang

Visitors to Singapore will soon be able to use their Wise app to scan and pay for goods and services here.

The fintech giant said on March 7 that it has connected directly to the PayNow network, so users are able to make QR code payments directly through its app to thousands of merchants once the feature is up and running in a few months.

Singapore will be the first country to get the Wise scan-to-pay feature, with other markets to follow.

The process is much like other multi-currency payment apps. Funds will be deducted from a customer's Wise account - either directly from his Singapore dollar balances, or converted from other currencies at the mid-market rate, which can usually be found through a Google search.

The app will show any fees and the final amount that will be charged before the user confirms payment.

Wise already offers a debit card that functions in a similar way. It has issued more than four million of these cards globally, and processes around 33 million transactions a month.

Mr Shrawan Saraogi, Wise's AsiaPacific head of expansion and Singapore country manager, told The Straits Times that the move will allow visitors to pay at places like hawker centres that do not usually accept card payments.