Singapore’s DBS Launches QR Payment App For Small Business AR

Singapore bank DBS is introducing a new solution for small businesses to embrace digital payments and better manage cash flow, according to an announcement on the FI’s website late last week.

Dubbed DBS MAX, the solution is a mobile-based QR code payment tool that lets small and medium-sized businesses receive payment from both consumers and business partners. Rolling out later this month, the DBS MAX tool is designed to promote the adoption of ePayments among the small business community and address friction SMBs experience in managing cash flow and finances.

Small business customers of the bank can download the DBS MAX mobile app, which then automatically generates a QR code that can be scanned by a customer or vendor to complete a transaction. Small businesses then receive a notification once payments are made, and funds are credited into their small business bank accounts in real-time.

At the end of every day, all transactions that flow through the DBS MAX platform are reconciled and a report is automatically generated, DBS added.

The bank explained that the solution eliminates the need for small businesses to deploy a separate POS terminal while providing automated, enhanced bookkeeping and accounting features. The solution can also be particularly useful for SMBs with multiple locations, as all transaction data can be centralized and sent to a firm’s headquarters.

The solution is also integrated with PayNow, the payments solution created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Earlier this year the MAS announced that PayNow would be available to corporate payers via PayNow Corporate, which can be accessed via banks’ mobile app platforms.

DBS pointed to recent research that found more than one third of Singapore SMBs are facing financial issues, and of them, more than 80 percent say the struggles are the result of delayed customer and vendor payments that disrupt cash flow.

“Cash flow is the lifeblood of a [SMB],” said DBS bank group head of cash product management Jasmin Ng in a statement. “It is also critical to their success and overall viability. Apart from developing solutions to help our clients deliver an enhanced customer experience, we also look at ways to optimize their cash flows and improve their working capital management. This is important as SMEs form the backbone of Singapore’s economy, employing two thirds of our workforce and contributing more than half of our GDP.”