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Payments and Transactions - OCBC - PayNow

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • PayNow - General information

    1. What is the PayNow service about?

      PayNow is a service that allows you to send to and receive money using a mobile number, Singapore NRIC, Foreign Identification Number (FIN), Unique Entity Number (UEN) or Virtual Payment Address (VPA) without having to know the recipient's account number.

    2. Who can use the PayNow service?

      PayNow service is available to OCBC Bank personal banking account holders as we are one of the 9 participating banks for PayNow service. The participating banks are:

      • ANEXT Bank
      • Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ)
      • BNP Paribas
      • Bank of China
      • CIMB Group Holdings Berhad
      • Citigroup Inc.
      • DBS Bank
      • Deutsche Bank AG
      • Green Link Digital Bank
      • GXS Bank
      • HSBC Holdings
      • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC)
      • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
      • MariBank Singapore
      • Maybank Singapore
      • Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC)
      • RHB Banking Group
      • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
      • Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore)
      • Trust Bank Singapore
      • United Overseas Bank (UOB)
      • Grab Holdings Inc.
      • Liquid Group
      • Singtel Dash
      • Xfers
      • Nium
    3. Can I transfer money from a PayNow participating bank to a non-PayNow participating bank?

      No. PayNow only enables funds transfer between participating banks. Funds between a participating and non-participating bank can be transferred via other channels such as FAST or Interbank GIRO.

    4. When was PayNow launched?

      It was launched on 10 July 2017 at 8am Singapore Time.

    5. What are the operating hours of PayNow?

      OCBC Bank offers PayNow 24x7.

    6. If I am not an OCBC customer, can I use PayNow?

      You have to be a customer of one of the above 9 participating banks to use PayNow service.

    7. Are there any charges for using PayNow to send money and receive money?

      There is no service fee imposed for using PayNow.

    8. What can I use PayNow for?

      You can send and receive money to anyone who is registered on PayNow.

    9. Can I use PayNow to transfer money to a bank account overseas?

      No. PayNow can only be used for Singapore Dollar funds transfers between participating banks.

    10. Is sending money secure via PayNow?

      Yes, PayNow is secured and adopts the same high security standards established by the banking industry in Singapore for funds transfer.

  • PayNow - Registration

    1. Why was I unable to link my Singapore NRIC and/or Foreign Identification Number (FIN), and/or mobile number for PayNow with OCBC Bank?

      If you have linked your Singapore NRIC, and/or FIN, and/or mobile number to another bank's account, you must first delink your Singapore NRIC, and/or FIN, and/or mobile number from the other bank's account before you can link your Singapore NRIC, and/or FIN, and/or mobile number to an OCBC Bank account. You can check with the other bank on how to delink your Singapore NRIC, FIN, and/or mobile number with them.

    2. Can I link another country’s NRIC for PayNow service? Example: Malaysia’s NRIC

      No. Only a Singapore NRIC can be used. Alternatively, you may link using your mobile number instead.

    3. Can I link my child's Birth Certificate for PayNow service?

      Joint account with the child (under the age of 16) can register the child's Birth Certificate for the PayNow service, such that PayNow payments to the child's Birth Certificate can be made directly to the joint account.

    4. I was unable to link my mobile number for PayNow and I was informed that my mobile number is already linked with another bank; I don't have an account with that bank. What should I do?

      Your number could be a recycled number and it might have been registered with PayNow by the previous owner. Please contact us for assistance by calling 1800 363 3333 or visit any OCBC branch.

    5. Is the registration for PayNow instant?

      Yes, your registration is instant upon successful confirmation.

    6. Where can I register PayNow with OCBC?

      You can register via OCBC Online Banking or via the OCBC Digital app.

      Alternatively, you may use our SMS Banking service if you have registered for our SMS-OTP service. Simply send an SMS to 72323 using the following format:

      Registration of mobile number

      REGM <space> NRIC <space> last 6 digits of account number

      Example: REGM S1234567A 123456

      Registration of NRIC

      REGN <space> NRIC <space> last 6 digits of account number

      Example: REGN S1234567A 123456

      Registration of child's Birth Certificate

      REGN <space> parent's NRIC <space> last 6 digits of joint account number <space> child's birth certificate number

      Example: REGN S1234567A 123456 T7654321B

    7. I do not have OCBC Online Banking. Can I register for PayNow at any OCBC branch?

      You will not be able to register at our branch. You may apply for an OCBC Online Banking access code and PIN instantly.

      Alternatively, you may use our SMS Banking service if you have registered for our SMS-OTP service. Simply send an SMS to 72323 using the following format:

      Registration of mobile number

      REGM <space> NRIC <space> last 6 digits of account number

      Example: REGM S1234567A 123456

      Registration of NRIC

      REGN <space> NRIC <space> last 6 digits of account number

      Example: REGN S1234567A 123456

      Registration of child's Birth Certificate

      REGN <space> parent's NRIC <space> last 6 digits of joint account number <space> child's birth certificate number

      Example: REGN S1234567A 123456 T7654321B

    8. Can I use my Foreign Identification Number (FIN) to register for PayNow?

      We can accept FIN for PayNow registration now.

    9. What else do I need to know about PayNow registration?

      • If you are linking your mobile number, it has to be the same mobile number used for your One-Time Password (OTP).

      • You will be prompted to provide your name, which will be displayed to the sender in order to identify that you are the correct recipient. This name can be amended later if required.

      • Please note that your Singapore NRIC and/or FIN and/or mobile number can only be linked to one OCBC account respectively.

  • PayNow - Receiving money

    1. How do I receive money with the PayNow service?

      In order to receive money, you need to register your PayNow by linking your mobile number or NRIC or FIN to your OCBC bank account via OCBC Online Banking, OCBC Digital app or SMS Banking.

  • PayNow - Sending Money

    1. What do I need in order to use PayNow to send money?

      You must be an OCBC customer with Online Banking access code, PIN and SMS/hardware token.

      • You must have at least one personal OCBC savings or current account.
      • You must have the recipient's Singapore NRIC, FIN, mobile number, UEN, or VPA which is registered with PayNow. You also need the recipient's PayNow name.
    2. Do I need to link my Singapore NRIC or FIN or mobile number to PayNow to send money to my friend?

      No, you do not need to. You just need to check with the recipient if he/she is registered with PayNow and you need to have the recipient's Singapore NRIC number or FIN or mobile number.

    3. Where can I send money via PayNow?

      You can send money to anyone via OCBC Digital Banking (desktop, mobile web or OCBC Digital app).

    4. What will happen if the recipient is not registered with PayNow?

      Currently, you will not be able to send money to a mobile number that is not registered with PayNow. You may try either method:

      1. Select the recipient’s mobile number that is registered with PayNow. The recipient’s PayNow name will appear when you select the number.
      2. Select the recipient’s NRIC or FIN that is registered with PayNow.

      If the recipient is not registered with PayNow, you may ask them to link their mobile number or NRIC or FIN to their OCBC account via OCBC Digital Banking app or learn more at ocbc.com/paynow. For other banks, please ask them to visit the respective banks’ website.

    5. Is sending money via PayNow instant?

      The money is sent using FAST transfer, hence the money is transferred almost instantaneously.

    6. How do I check that I'm sending money to the correct recipient?

      You can check the recipient's PayNow name which will be shown on the screen. If you are not sure, please check with the recipient.

    7. How will I know if I have transferred funds successfully via PayNow?

      You can check the status of your funds transfer via Online Banking transaction history. You can also login to Internet Banking > Customer Service > Check internet transaction status.

    8. I was informed that as a Premier customer, I can increase my PayNow daily transfer limit to S$300,000. However, when I tried to make a transfer of S$250,000, I kept receiving a pop-up message informing me that the transaction did not go through.

      Single PayNow transactions of more than S$200,000 can only be made to mobile number or NRIC/FIN or UEN linked to an OCBC account.

    9. My PayNow transaction was rejected and I received a message informing me that OCBC detected a possible security risk, and that I should use another device. What should I do?

      This would mean that malware (virus, trojan, worm, spyware, ransomware) or a possible security risk was detected in the device you were using to make the transaction. You will have to use another device (another phone or desktop computer) to effect the transaction.

    10. I tried making a payment to an organisation, but saw a prompt that says "You cannot make payments to this organisation using this account.". What should I do?

      You can proceed by selecting a valid account from your account list that does not have credit/overdraft facility.

    11. I tried making a payment to an organisation, but saw a prompt that says " Payment cannot be made". What should I do?

      You may proceed with payment if you have accounts without a credit/overdraft facility.

  • PayNow - Daily Transfer Limit

    1. How do I change my PayNow daily transfer limit?

      Via OCBC Internet Banking:

      • Log in to OCBC Internet Banking
      • Select ‘Customer service’ in the top navigation bar
      • Select ‘Manage transaction limits’
      • Choose your preferred limit (beside ‘PayNow transfer’)
      • Follow the instructions provided

      A cooling period will apply before this key account changes take effect.

      Via the OCBC Digital app:

      • Follow the steps provided on the Transfer Funds via PayNow or Scan & Pay pages (your limit can be as low as S$100).
    2. What are the amounts that I can choose as the daily transfer limit for sending money via PayNow?

      They are S$100, S$500, S$1,000, S$3,000, S$5,000, S$10,000, S$25,000, S$50,000, S$100,000 and S$200,000. Premier Banking and Premier Private Client customers can send up to S$300,000 a day via PayNow.

    3. What is the difference between a transaction limit and an authorisation limit?

      The transaction limit refers to the maximum amount you can send daily. The authorisation limit refers to the amount which you can send before being asked to authorise the transaction (you may do so using OCBC OneToken, SMS OTP or your hardware token).

    4. Can I change my authorised limit?

      No – it is fixed at S$200.

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