DBS Launches Tap-to-Phone Payments for Businesses in Singapore
- Snehal Pandey
- Jun 3
- 5 min read
DBS has launched a new tap-to-phone payment feature in Singapore, enabling merchants to accept contactless cards and digital wallet payments directly through their smartphones using the DBS MAX app. This move aims to simplify payment acceptance and support businesses in an increasingly cashless economy.
DBS bank, which is Singapore’s leading bank, has rolled out an innovative payment feature known as “tap-to-phone.” Through the DBS MAX app, users will be able to turn their smartphones into electronic payment devices. The new payment solution offers a much easier, cheaper, and faster way of making payments from any point within Singapore, and the new payment option should suit everyone who wants to make transactions.
Since the number of online payments is rapidly increasing in retail services and stores, DBS is working to provide the best payment methods to its clients. Using the innovative tap-to-phone system, business owners can use their smartphones as electronic payment devices for customers to pay with just a swipe of their cards and mobile wallets.
DBS Expands Digital Payment Capabilities with Tap-to-Phone Technology
The latest tap-to-phone capability is embedded within the DBS MAX app, which is an application already familiar to most businesses for collecting their payment via digital means. Without having to purchase a POS terminal or card reader, businesses will be able to collect their payments via their phone.
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As with contactless payments, the underlying technology uses Near Field Communication (NFC). All the customer needs to do is just tap their NFC-enabled payment card or digital wallet to the phone of the business.
The implementation of this technology is expected to especially help small businesses, street food vendors, pop-up shops, independent contractors, and mobile payment providers.
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Supports Major Digital Wallets and Contactless Cards
One of the main benefits of using the new DBS product is its high level of compatibility with various forms of payments. DBS states that clients will have an opportunity to make payments with the help of numerous contactless payment systems, including:
Apple Pay
Google Wallet
Samsung Wallet
Contactless credit cards
Contactless debit cards
Various NFC-based payments
It will allow companies to serve both their local clients and international tourists who tend to choose cashless payment methods more often.
In view of the popularity of digital wallets as a means of payment, the possibility of processing payments from different sources with one phone is a huge advantage for customers.
Designed for Small Businesses and Everyday Merchants
According to DBS, tap-to-phone technology is developed considering the idea of simplicity. In order to enable merchants to use this function, the bank introduces an easy-to-use three-step configuration process within its DBS MAX mobile application.
DBS expects that this approach will attract many SMEs since now they will be able to embrace the world of digitalization without any technical difficulties and additional expenses for installation of new equipment.
Until recently, in order to receive payments via cards, merchants needed to buy or lease special payment devices, which were responsible for carrying out operations. With tap-to-phone technology, merchants receive the same opportunity but in the form of their smartphones.
Thus, tap-to-phone technology may be especially useful for those businesses working on a temporary basis and using marketplaces or event spaces.
Complete Digital Payment Ecosystem
This latest addition taps into the full potential of DBS MAX as a payment gateway for businesses.
Before its release, businesses operating using DBS MAX were already capable of accepting payments via QR code and other digital means. With the introduction of the tapping service that enables users to make payments directly from the smartphone, DBS has taken the platform to the next level.
Businesses can now accept payments using different modes via the same application as opposed to having several different systems or platforms. This ensures streamlined payment processes while making it easier to monitor transactions.
DBS Highlights Efficiency and Growth Opportunities
Speaking about the launch, Tesy Mathew, Group Head of Cash Management Product, Global Transaction Services, DBS said that the benefits of this technological advancement can prove to be numerous for organizations.
Mathew added that with tap-to-phone technology, it is possible to do things faster and cheaper, especially when compared to traditional payments infrastructure costs. At the same time, DBS considers this technology useful when scaling the business to explore new business opportunities.
Since the demands of consumers are moving towards immediate and cashless payments, it is important to have flexible options to accept them.
Singapore’s Tourism Boom Creates Demand for Cashless Payments
The rollout is timely for the Singaporean retail industry as well as the hospitality industry. The Singapore Tourism Board reports that tourist receipts for the first nine months of 2025 surpassed S$23.9 billion.
The robust tourism recovery has translated into increased expenditure on restaurant meals, amusement parks, retail goods, transportation, and local businesses.
Foreign visitors usually use contactless card payments or mobile payments instead of cash or foreign exchange transactions. Hence, merchants who are able to accept foreign modes of payment will be in a good position to cater to tourists and benefit from the opportunity.
As such, DBS’s new feature could contribute significantly towards capturing spending from locals and tourists alike.
The tap-to-phone innovation is slowly but surely finding its way around the globe as banks and payment processors work hard to reduce the obstacles that come with adopting digital payment methods. Through the use of smartphones rather than the payment-specific hardware, businesses can upgrade their payment systems without spending too much money.
As seen with the new DBS app feature, the global payments industry is moving towards software-based payment systems in place of hardware-based payment solutions. With the ever-evolving capabilities of the smartphones used by consumers, businesses can now easily switch to an even more flexible system.
In Singapore, the development offers yet another push towards becoming a digital country where accepting cashless payments is made easier through the smartphone device itself.
The introduction by DBS of tap-to-phone payment capability using its DBS MAX app represents a leap forward in the digital payment system in Singapore. The ability to have small business owners and vendors accept payments using their mobile phones is an innovative step that is going to make transaction processes easier and cheaper.
Taking into consideration the support offered by DBS MAX for most major digital wallets and an easy setup procedure, as well as being a component of an already established payment platform, the new feature seems like something that could benefit small businesses in particular. In addition, this development comes against the backdrop of rising tourism in Singapore and increasing popularity of non-cash payments.
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