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Singapore’s financial authorities have incorporated a new payments entity to oversee the country’s national payment schemes.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have set up the Singapore Payments Network (SPaN) as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee.
SPaN will consolidate the administration and government of Singapore’s national payment schemes, collaborate with MAS on the development of Singapore’s national payments strategy, and drive the next stage in the sector's development.
Governance
The move is intended to provide strong governance over Singapore's national and cross-border payment schemes, while promoting continuous innovation in the industry.
Its initial membership comprises MAS along with Citibank, DBS Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB — the so-called Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
Helen Wong, ABS chairman, said ABS and its member banks are committed to supporting SPaN in its mission to advance a robust and future-ready payment ecosystem that would be critical to Singapore’s economy.
“The streamlined governance of national payment schemes under SPaN will enable financial institutions to respond swiftly and innovate effectively to meet the evolving digital payment needs of consumers and businesses,” Wong said.
Board of directors
An 11-member board of directors will be formed to guide the company from incorporation to operational readiness, which is anticipated by the end of 2026.
The board will comprise two senior representatives from MAS, five from bank and non-bank financial institutions, and four independent industry directors.
It will oversee the next phase of work, which will include transition of national payment schemes from existing scheme administrators to SPaN.
Chia Der Jiun, managing director of MAS, said the incorporation of SPaN is an important step in strengthening Singapore’s national payment infrastructures under a unified governance structure.
“SPaN will set the foundation for the banking and payments industries to collaborate more effectively and facilitate greater resilience and innovation across Singapore’s payment infrastructure,” Jiun said.
Simplification
Prasad Thandapani, senior analyst at Vixio, said the creation of SpaN would bring some additional consistency to the administration of payment systems in Singapore.
“While there can be little doubt that Singapore’s payments systems have been implemented and supported effectively up until now, the ability to liaise with one regulator instead of three should be a welcome simplification for financial institutions in the island state,” Thandapani said.
He added: “In addition to this, allowing financial institutions a stake in the regulator could be a step in the right direction both to encourage accountability and to allow the regulatory entity to respond quickly to innovation in Singapore’s vibrant payments market.”
Singapore already has one of the leading payments industries in the world, renowned for its cutting-edge innovation.
The creation of SPaN reflects the government’s commitment to maintaining the nation’s position as a hub of payments sector growth and innovation.
As covered by Vixio, the consolidation of multiple schemes under a single entity was announced in February 2025, and is intended to streamline administration and governance while enabling financial institutions and payment service providers (PSPs) to capitalise on new opportunities in global payments.
Thandapani said: “Singapore's payments industry is perhaps one of the most innovative in the region and indeed the world. A combination of proactive regulators, a friendly business environment and being a key financial centre has allowed payment service providers to flourish.”
