More than three million DBS PayLah! users can now make QR payments at over 250,000 participating merchants across Taiwan.
The connection with Taiwan’s TWQR network allows Singapore travellers to use PayLah! at night markets, restaurants, retailers and popular tourist destinations without downloading another payment application.
DBS is the first Singapore bank to connect its customers to TWQR. The initial coverage represents about two-thirds of the network and includes QR codes operated by iPass Money, Taiwan Pay, PXPay Plus and Easy Wallet.
Customers can view the payment amount in Taiwan dollars, the applicable exchange rate and the final amount in Singapore dollars before confirming the transaction.
DBS said transaction volumes through its cross-border QR-payment services have grown 2.5 times year on year, while the number of unique users has doubled.
“Across Asia, people have different ways of paying for everyday purchases, shaped by the local payment systems they use,” said Chan Sow Han, Head of Payments and Unsecured Lending, Consumer Banking Group, DBS Singapore.
The bank expects PayLah! users to be able to pay across the full participating TWQR merchant network in 2027, including merchants displaying JKO Pay QR codes. DBS also plans to introduce a merchant-scan-customer option, allowing major Taiwanese retailers to scan PayLah! users’ QR codes.
In 2027, DBS customers in Taiwan are expected to be able to scan participating SGQR codes in Singapore through their digibank application.
PayLah! already supports overseas QR payments through Indonesia’s QRIS, Malaysia’s DuitNow, Thailand’s PromptPay and UnionPay’s international network.
Herald View
DBS is building cross-border QR one corridor at a time, and the numbers say travellers use it: volumes up 2.5 times and unique users doubled. Taiwan is only about two thirds live, and full coverage plus the route for DBS customers in Taiwan paying in Singapore are not due until 2027. Those 2027 dates are the test, because a two way corridor is what turns a travel feature into a payments network.
