Singapore’s payment options are shaped largely by regulation from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), high digital payment adoption, and local payment methods like PayNow.
This means you may need to manage multiple payment methods and processors while staying compliant. A payment orchestration platform can help you do this, allowing you to quickly add new compliant payment methods to your checkout quickly.
In this post, we’ll talk about how to find the best payment orchestration platforms in Singapore.
What you need to know about Singapore’s payment landscape
There are a few factors shaping Singapore’s current payments ecosystem.
MAS regulations
First, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulates payments under the Payments Services Act (PSA). The PSA covers seven regulated payment service types, and requires providers to hold either a Standard Payment Institution (SPI) or Major Payment Institution (MPI) license depending on volume.
You don't need a license to accept payments in Singapore, but your provider's license status directly affects you.
Providers holding a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license (required when monthly volume exceeds SGD 3M for any single service) are required to safeguard your settlement funds separately from their own operating capital. Meanwhile, Standard Payment Institution (SPI) license holders have less stringent safeguarding requirements, and unlicensed providers offer no regulatory protection on how your money is handled.
When choosing a payment provider or orchestration platform in Singapore, checking their MAS license status is a practical first step.
Singapore’s preferred payment methods
Like other ASEAN countries, Singapore consumers have their own preferred payment methods. These include:
| Type | Popular examples | Market context |
|---|---|---|
| Digital wallets | GrabPay, PayLah!, ShopeePay, Google Pay, Apple Pay | Wallets account for 22% of POS value and are projected to reach 44% by 2027. |
| Credit and debit cards | Visa, Mastercard | Still the leading online payment method. Singapore has one of the highest credit card penetration rates in Asia. |
| Real-time bank transfers | PayNow | Regulated by MAS, supports QR payments through SGQR/SGQR+. |
| Buy now, pay later | Atome, Grab PayLater | Growing adoption, particularly for retail and travel. |
| Account-to-account | FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) | Instant interbank transfers, available 24/7. |
How can payment orchestration platforms help manage a complex payments ecosystem?
If you're working with multiple processors or payment methods, orchestration gives you one integration instead of managing each connection separately. That means you can benefit by:
- Activating payment methods without engineering work, so you can add new payment options fast
- Routing transactions to different processors based on card type or transaction value, which can potentially help you reduce processing or interchange fees
- Comparing cost and performance data across providers in one place instead of trying to cobble together data from multiple reports
The ‘best’ payment orchestration platforms in Singapore
When choosing a payment orchestration platform, you want a platform that connects to Singapore's preferred payment methods through MAS-licensed providers, and lets you compare processor costs and authorization rates from one place rather than across separate dashboards.
Here are four platforms worth evaluating:
- Primer: Unified Payment Infrastructure with agnostic 3DS, no-code Workflows for routing, Costs Overview for fee comparison, automated Reconciliation capabilities, and Observability for authorization rates.
- Yuno: Opened its APAC regional headquarters in Singapore in September 2025.
- Gr4vy: Cloud-native platform where each merchant gets a dedicated cloud instance.
- Payrails: Growing presence in South East Asia.
Process payments in Singapore with Primer
Singapore's regulatory and payment environment has specific requirements that a generic processor setup won't fully cover.
Primer gives you agnostic 3DS, no-code routing, cost visibility across processors, and payment method activation from one dashboard.
Book a demo to see how Primer works for Singapore merchants.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about payment orchestration platforms in Singapore
What does the MAS Payment Services Act mean for merchants processing in Singapore?
The PSA requires payment providers to be licensed by MAS. Your provider's license type (SPI or MPI) affects how your funds are safeguarded and what regulatory protections apply.
Is 3DS mandatory in Singapore?
3DS isn’t mandatory in Singapore the way PSD2 mandates it across the EU. However, Singapore-based issuers often still request 3DS authentication on certain transactions, so you want a platform that can handle both the 3DS and failover retries without adding customer friction.
What should Singapore merchants look for in a payment orchestration platform?
When choosing a payment orchestration platform, look for:
- Coverage of local payment methods like Atome and GrabPay
- 3DS handling that doesn’t complicate the customer experience
- Clear, transparent cost comparisons across processors in a single dashboard
.png)
