Which is the best mobile wallet in Singapore?
There are a multitude of mobile wallet options but largely, they fall into two categories: bank-owned wallets and non-bank wallets.
Bank-owned mobile wallets
DBS PayLah
Most Singaporeans have a DBS or POSB account so it stands to reason that DBS PayLah is the most widely used and accepted mobile wallet. You can send or request funds from anyone, including non-DBS/POSB customers, via a simple mobile phone number. You no longer need to know the bank account number of the recipient, or deal with things like SWIFT or branch codes. With DBS PayLah, you can also:
- Use QR Codes and Payment Links to pay a merchant
- Scan to Pay at NETS Terminals
- Browse DBS featured merchants on the app
- Split bills with friends
- Pay to over 58 billing organisations
- Face/Touch ID/fingerprint authentication
What makes DBS PayLah stands out is its auto debit feature from your linked bank account when you have insufficient mobile wallet balance. It can also send Whatsapp notifications when you send or request for funds.
UOB Mighty
UOB Mighty by UOB stands out in terms of exclusive debit/credit card deals across 4 neighbouring Asian countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia) and competitive foreign exchange rates across 11 major currencies (AUD, CAD, CHF, CHN, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD).
UOB Mighty is also accepted at a wide range of partner merchants, many of them dining establishments. In fact, it offers dining deals from over 3,200 restaurants in Singapore.
OCBC Pay Anyone
OCBC customers can request for money or send money to anyone via a personalised QR code; make NETS QR purchases up to a daily limit of $1,000; and pay for your dining, shopping; transport needs via QR code at NETS terminal at partner merchants.
Using OCBC Pay Anyone allows you to pay anyone in Singapore as it has a wide range of OCBC partner merchants across major categories such as cinemas, retail shops, convenience stores, food and beverages, and wellness and beauty, including Cathay Cineplexes, TADA, and Koufu.
A downside is the daily transaction limit of $1,000 while OCBC Pay Anyone is also not widely accepted across the region yet.
Non-bank mobile wallets
GrabPay
GrabPay is best known to regular users of Grab since you can just top-up prepaid GrabPay credits for your Grab rides. Moreover, you can send or receive GrabPay credits to others without a hitch.
When you link your debit or credit card for payment, you will also earn card benefits and reward points on your Grab ride.
GrabPay is rapidly adding and growing its network of partner merchants, as well as adding services like GrabFood, GrabDelivery and even hotels and e-scooter services on its platform to expand the use of its e-wallet.
AliPay
AliPay is a global payment platform with over 400 million users around the world to make secure online payments.
Backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, AliPay uses the most advanced encryption technology to ensure personal information and online payments are protected and never compromised to any third party. AliPay promises full amount reimbursement, 90-day payment protection, and response within 5 business days after receiving your complaint for any unauthorised transactions using your AliPay account.
Moreover, AliPay offers a full refund if you do not receive your order, and refund or keep items not as described. You can open an Alipay account in Singapore but you need a Chinese mobile number and a Chinese credit card in order to transfer funds to your Alipay mobile wallet.
In Singapore, AliPay is widely accepted at international restaurants or merchants targeted at Chinese tourists.
WeChat Pay
WeChat Pay is an integral part of the daily lives of Chinese consumers as it enables them to make payments anytime and anywhere with just their mobile phone.
WeChat Pay has made the physical wallet obsolete in China as it’s supported and accepted almost everywhere, including taxi, supermarkets, restaurants and hospitals. WeChat Pay also connects overseas vendors directly to Chinese consumers. When Chinese consumers buy goods in a foreign country, they can follow vendors’ Official Accounts to pay their transactions.
WeChat Pay can also handle multiple payment methods via Quick Pay, QR Code, In-App Web-Based, or Native In-App Payment.
In addition, WeChat Pay supports major foreign currencies. Customers pay in Chinese (RMB) but the transaction is settled in a foreign currency. The drawback of WeChat Pay is that it’s still mostly targeted at Chinese consumers.