InvoiceNow and PayNow solutions can now be linked to help businesses get paid faster and be environmentally sustainable
SINGAPORE – 23 SEP 2020
Businesses will be able to enjoy even more convenient and seamless business transactions in the next few months, by adopting a solution that links e-invoices with PayNow payments.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA”) implemented Singapore’s nationwide e-invoicing network1, now called InvoiceNow, in 2019 to help businesses improve efficiency, reduce cost, receive payment faster, facilitate cross-border business transactions, and reduce our impact on the environment by using lesser paper invoices. To help even more businesses digitalise, IMDA has partnered DBS, OCBC and UOB to develop solutions, leveraging the nationwide e-invoicing network, InvoiceNow, with the PayNow e-payment system. InvoiceNow and PayNow both uses the Unique Entity Number (“UEN”) to help businesses send or receive invoices and collect payments easily. By registering for both services, business can then enjoy business efficiency, cost reduction and seamless payments.
Ms Jane Lim, Assistant Chief Executive, IMDA, said: “Within the past three months, we have seen an exponential increase in businesses coming onboard e-invoicing. Today, there are about 25,000 companies on InvoiceNow, up from 1,000 at the beginning of the year. Our aim is to drive further adoption to benefit more businesses, as IMDA leads Singapore’s digital transformation in this sector. We are excited to partner with DBS, OCBC and UOB, to co-create innovative solutions to strengthen for businesses that will fortify Singapore’s competitiveness in the global digital economy.”
Mr John Laurens, Group Head of Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank, said, “Driving interoperability of our digital solutions is key to unlocking Singapore’s Smart Nation ambition, and this is where the integration of InvoiceNow with PayNow shows great potential as it dovetails with the nation’s push towards a unified e-payments system and cashless society. At DBS, digital has been at the forefront of our agenda for several years now and we see digital solutions as enablers to guide corporates, especially SMEs, as they reinvent their operational blueprints to adapt to the changing business landscape. As the bank with the largest PayNow market share in Singapore, we will continue to actively engage our corporate customers on the benefits of digital to drive greater adoption of InvoiceNow and PayNow to ensure they have their best foot forward as we embark into the next normal.”
Mr Melvyn Low, Head, Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank, said, “Before the pandemic, there might have been SMEs who put digitalisation on the backburner but now, there is no question that going digital is a necessity. InvoiceNow and PayNow in particular, are two initiatives that have seen strong take up from our business banking customers. The complementary nature of the invoice and payment cycles means that businesses can digitalise their cash conversion cycle end to end to enjoy even more convenience and time savings. Our customers can issue and receive e-invoices and use PayNow to pay these invoices, through our digital business banking platform Velocity@ocbc, for a seamless experience.”
Mr Mervyn Koh, Country Head of Business Banking Singapore, UOB, said, “Since the launch of the nationwide e-invoicing framework, we have been helping our customers realise the tangible benefits that e-invoicing can bring to their business, including greater cash flow certainty. With the expansion of the PayNow model to cover payments for e-invoices under InvoiceNow, businesses will be able to receive payments more quickly and thus, shorten the time taken from invoicing to receiving payment. This will also help in increasing the use of electronic payments for business-to-business transactions, an important last mile in Singapore’s cashless drive. We expect that the launch of InvoiceNow will drive greater adoption of e-invoicing, thereby creating a virtuous circle where businesses adopt and benefit from digital solutions.”
Businesses that register for InvoiceNow on or before 31 December 2020 can receive an E-Invoicing Registration Grant2 (ERG) of $200, which will be paid out through PayNow Corporate. The ERG was announced in March 2020 as part of the Resilience Budget and $10 million has been set aside for the Grant.
For more information on e-invoicing, please visit: https://www.imda.gov.sg/invoicenow.
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