The Infocomm Media Development Authority – IMDA implemented Singapore’s nationwide e-invoicing network, 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 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.”
Moving Towards a Unified e- Payments and Cashless Society
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.”
Digitalisation has become priority since Pandemic
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.”
E-invoicing – making payments quicker and businesses more efficient
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.”
Businesses that register for InvoiceNow on or before 31 December 2020 can receive an E-Invoicing Registration Grant of $200, which will be paid out through PayNow Corporate. The grant was announced in March 2020 as part of the Resilience Budget and $10 million has been set aside for the Grant.