How do people in Singapore pay online?
Cards come first. In the Ecommerce Payments Momentum Report 2026 by Xendit and Cube, cards were used for an estimated 60% of online purchases in Singapore. E-wallets (33%) and bank transfers (35%) are growing but have not displaced them. Cross-border purchases were 19% of the market, and too many checkout steps was the top reason Singapore shoppers abandoned a purchase (26%).
The Department of Statistics Singapore estimated total retail sales at SGD 4.5 billion in August 2026, of which 15.7% were online. Excluding motor vehicles, the online share was 18.2%.
PayNow is the local account-to-account option. It runs over the FAST transfer system and lets people pay with a mobile number, NRIC/FIN or a business UEN instead of a bank account number. PayNow codes are part of the national SGQR code, so at an online checkout the shopper scans a QR code in their banking or e-wallet app and approves the payment. The Association of Banks in Singapore lists more than 20 participating banks, plus payment institutions such as GrabPay and Wise. Payment providers set their own limits; Stripe, for example, accepts PayNow payments of up to SGD 200,000, and each QR code expires after one hour.
Wallets fill the rest. GrabPay is a stored-balance wallet confirmed with a one-time password, and Apple Pay and Google Pay are both available in Singapore for paying with a saved card.
What rules shape online payments in Singapore?
GST is 9%. An overseas business must register under the Overseas Vendor Registration regime when its global turnover exceeds SGD 1 million a year and its business-to-consumer supplies of remote services or low-value goods to Singapore exceed SGD 100,000 a year. Digital services have been covered since 1 January 2020, and non-digital remote services and low-value goods since 1 January 2023. Low-value goods are those worth no more than the SGD 400 import relief threshold.
Businesses may not surcharge PayNow. The Association of Banks in Singapore states that entities receiving PayNow payments may not impose surcharges on them.
Personal data falls under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. For breaches on or after 1 October 2022, the maximum financial penalty is 10% of annual turnover in Singapore for organisations whose turnover there exceeds SGD 10 million, and SGD 1 million for others.
How would Omno route payments in Singapore?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Singapore:
- Card pay-ins can be routed by BIN, card type or amount, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay would run on the hosted checkout and follow the same card routing rules.
- PayNow payments would go to a provider that generates dynamic PayNow QR codes, with the order pending until the provider confirms the payment.
- GrabPay could be offered through a provider that supports it in SGD.
Webhooks would report the final status of every payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for cards first. They are still the main way Singapore shoppers pay online, so card approval and saved cards for repeat buyers matter most.
Plan for a short checkout. Too many steps was the top reason for abandoned purchases, which makes Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayNow QR worth offering next to the card form.
Plan for GST. Check whether your global turnover and Singapore consumer sales pass the Overseas Vendor Registration thresholds.
Plan for PayNow expiry. Its QR codes expire, so the checkout needs a way to start a fresh payment.