“Payments touch almost every part of daily life in Singapore, and people deserve to know exactly what they are paying and what protection they have,” Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) President Holly Fang said as the industry group launched a new code of conduct aimed at strengthening transparency and consumer protection across the city-state’s payments sector.
SFA, together with industry players, launched the Payments Industry Code of Conduct, which sets out consistent general standards of professional conduct and transparency that payment service providers (PSPs) in Singapore may adopt in their dealings with customers and other members of the industry.
“This Code gives providers a common set of standards to work towards, covering pricing transparency, fair advertising, fraud protection and how customer data is handled,” Fang said.
“For consumers, that means fewer surprises and clearer recourse when something goes wrong. For the industry, it raises the baseline of trust that good businesses are built on,” she added.
The Code applies to holders of a major payment institution licence, standard payment institution licence or money-changing licence, as well as exempt payment service providers, in relation to their regulated fiat currency-related payment services under the Payment Services Act 2019.
It does not extend to digital payment token services conducted by PSPs.
Adherence is voluntary and based on self-assessment. A PSP may become a “Code Adherent” by assessing its policies, processes and systems against the standards in the Code and publicly declaring its adherence.
Public declarations must state the year the self-assessment was conducted and are valid for one year, after which a renewed self-assessment is required to maintain Code Adherent status.
The Code is intended to complement, rather than replace, existing obligations under the Payment Services Act and Monetary Authority of Singapore regulations.
Among the areas covered are pricing and transparency, fair marketing and advertising, fraud prevention and consumer protection, card dispute liability, data privacy and security, and operational resilience.
Code Adherents commit to showing customers the full cost of a transaction before they commit to it, including the principal amount, transaction fees, applicable exchange rate and any mark-up, and the final amount to be transacted.
They will also not add mandatory charges halfway through a transaction or describe a service as “free” or “zero fee” where the total cost includes a mark-up or spread on the exchange rate unless that cost is clearly disclosed.
“One of the clearest messages from this Code is that customers deserve greater transparency and confidence when they make a payment,” said SK Saraogi, CEO of Wise Asia Pacific and outgoing Co-Chair of the SFA Payments Subcommittee.
“A mark-up hidden in the exchange rate is still a cost to the customer and should be displayed transparently,” Saraogi said.
“When pricing is presented clearly and consistently across payment providers, consumers can make informed choices and competition is driven by real value.”
The Code also calls for documented fraud prevention frameworks, including regular risk assessments, transaction monitoring, clear escalation procedures and ongoing user education on common scams.
Code Adherents are expected to identify and stress-test critical systems, including ledger and wallet systems, payment gateways, customer-facing APIs and authentication services.
“As payments become more digital, instant and cross-border, maintaining trust across every transaction is essential,” said Jeremy Tan, CEO of Liquid Group and Co-Chair of the SFA Payments Subcommittee.
“By setting a consistent baseline while giving providers room to innovate, it will help businesses put these principles into practice and give customers greater confidence in the services they use,” Tan added.
The SFA said it and industry players will regularly review and update the Code as Singapore’s payments industry evolves and will welcome new market participants and providers over time.