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A poll of nearly 50 bankers from leading Asian financial institutions found that the vast majority believe that immediate payments will have a positive effect on business in Singapore.

The survey findings are significant because they demonstrate strong support for the new high-speed low-value payment scheme being developed in Singapore, considered to be a model for other countries throughout the region.

The survey found that bankers see the potential for immediate payments to drive new bank service-fee revenue from both consumers and businesses.

While all (100%) of the respondents think that immediate payments will have a positive effect on doing business in Singapore, 73% think that it will make Singapore an easier place to do business.

Nearly all (93%) of the respondents believe that immediate payments will have a positive effect on their own businesses.

The study also finds that 88% believe that businesses will utilise immediate payments – although respondents were split on how often: 43% said that businesses will use it extensively, while another 43% said that it would be used moderately.

More than half (63%) believe that immediate payments will only be adopted in the advanced banking centres in the region; while 27% believe that it will be widely adopted throughout the region.

“In a real-time world it is only natural that payment systems keep up with the pace of business. The availability of immediate payments will have a positive effect on those Asia-Pacific economies that adopt such a scheme,” says Colin Klipin, former Barclays Vice Chairman of Global Payments.
 

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