Visa announced its partnership with SP Group to enable to make digital payments with Visa cards for SP utility bills via its mobile app.

Using the SP Utilities App, Visa cardholders can now store their credit card details on file securely and make payment with a single click, simplifying the entire payment experience. Previously, households could only make payments for their SP utility bills using selected bank cards, visit the physical branches at SP Group or pay at third party kiosk machines.

According to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study1, close to 80 per cent of Singaporeans prefer using digital payments over cash or cheques. The survey also found that close to two-thirds (68 per cent) of Singapore consumers prefer card-on-file payments, testament to the growth success of an app-based driven economy in the country.

“At Visa, our focus is to open up more digital payments acceptance and ensure that Singaporeans can make payments for their everyday spend seamlessly. Today, we are seeing that eCommerce is growing three times faster than face-to-face transactions.2 It is evident that there is a shift in consumer preference to make payments on-the-go, and we will continue to work with more partners to ensure we transform the payment experience for Singaporeans who will be able to pay for their goods and services online seamlessly,” said Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei, Kunal Chatterjee, said.

“SP Group is always looking at ways to provide greater convenience and value for our customers. With the increasing preference for digital payments, our partnership with Visa enables our customers who uses their cards to easily pay their utility bills on our mobile app, giving them an additional and simple way to make payment,” said Mr Chuah Kee Heng, Chief Executive Officer, SP Services.

The Visa and SP Group partnership is in line with the Singapore government’s Smart Nation initiatives, which call for greater acceptance and use of digital payments. The latest collaboration comes after the recent launches of contactless acceptance for both transit, hawker centres, coffee shops and industrial canteens in Singapore.