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That is a good news for Singapore bank users. The next question, will it still FOC?

New electronic funds transfer service allows quick interbank transfers

SINGAPORE — The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) today (Feb 24) announced a new electronic funds transfer service that will allow fund transfers between banks almost immediately,

Called the Fast And Secure Transfers (FAST), the new service will enable customers to complete interbank fund transfers between the 14 participating banks within minutes, shortening a process that can sometimes take up to three days.

The new service is slated for launch by the middle of this year as the participating banks continue their system upgrade.

“The 14 participating banks command over 90 per cent of the fund transfer volume in Singapore, which totals to around S$96 million annually,” director of ABS Ong-Ang Ai Boon said. “FAST was first announced in 2012... in response to the increasing demand from consumers and businesses for faster fund transfer services.”

When launched, FAST will be available anytime, “24/7 a day and every day of the year”, Mrs Ong said.

It does not however allow cross border transfer, she added. “It’s for Singapore dollar transfers between banks based in Singapore only.”

The 14 participating banks are: ANZ Bank, CIMB Bank, Citibank, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Far Eastern Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Bank, RHB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and United Overseas.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/new-...-transfers

Base on $96 million per year, if they take too big a cut (e.g. 0.5%), there will be no take up; but anything smaller will not result in meaningful $ so they should just provide FOC.

(24-02-2014, 06:07 PM)egghead Wrote: [ -> ]Base on $96 million per year, if they take too big a cut (e.g. 0.5%), there will be no take up; but anything smaller will not result in meaningful $ so they should just provide FOC.

The fee might not base on transferred amount, but per transaction. IIRC, $0.30 per transaction was charged by banks, but later it was waived.

If they charged for a faster transfer, I will opt for the slower one unless I am in urgent need to transfer money. Not that I speak for the masses but the bank will not earn any or much from me. Anyway, the banks got my message.

(24-02-2014, 05:35 PM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]“The 14 participating banks command over 90 per cent of the fund transfer volume in Singapore, which totals to around S$96 million annually,” director of ABS Ong-Ang Ai Boon said. “FAST was first announced in 2012... in response to the increasing demand from consumers and businesses for faster fund transfer services.”

$96 million annually sounds too little. On average, it would only be 250K. i went back to the online article,

TodayOnline Wrote:“The 14 participating banks command over 90 per cent of the fund transfer volume in Singapore, which totals to around 96 million transactions annually,” director of ABS Ong-Ang Ai Boon said. “FAST was first announced in 2012... in response to the increasing demand from consumers and businesses for faster fund transfer services.”

96 million transactions annually sounds more reasonable

if u do shorting, this may come in handy...can ask yr sworn/blood brother/sister to tt their monies to save u ..hee

(24-02-2014, 10:16 PM)Devil Wrote: [ -> ]

(24-02-2014, 05:35 PM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]“The 14 participating banks command over 90 per cent of the fund transfer volume in Singapore, which totals to around S$96 million annually,” director of ABS Ong-Ang Ai Boon said. “FAST was first announced in 2012... in response to the increasing demand from consumers and businesses for faster fund transfer services.”

$96 million annually sounds too little. On average, it would only be 250K. i went back to the online article,

TodayOnline Wrote:“The 14 participating banks command over 90 per cent of the fund transfer volume in Singapore, which totals to around 96 million transactions annually,” director of ABS Ong-Ang Ai Boon said. “FAST was first announced in 2012... in response to the increasing demand from consumers and businesses for faster fund transfer services.”

96 million transactions annually sounds more reasonable

It seems the article was updated two hours after it was posted. It is quite a difference, between million $ and million transactions.

Thanks for the highlight.

Finally the service is available soon, and best of all, FOC for almost all of them...

Faster interbank transfer service to start on March 17

SINGAPORE — A new electronic service that enables almost immediate funds transfer between banks based here, will be available from next Monday (March 17), the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced today.

With Fast And Secure Transfers (FAST), individuals and businesses can perform interbank fund transfers – capped at S$10,000 – between the current 14 participating banks almost instantaneously, shortening a process that can sometimes take up to three days. FAST is only usable for domestic Singapore Dollar transfers.

The participating banks are Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, CIMB, Citibank, DBS (including POSB), Deutsche Bank, Far Eastern Bank, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, Maybank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, RHB, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank.

The charges and conditions applied differ between banks. For instance, DBS, OCBC and UOB said they will be making the service free for their retail customers. A sum will be charged to business banking customers, but some banks, such as OCBC and UOB, will waive off these charges for a limited period; DBS will instead offer preferential rates to business customers.

Among the foreign banks, Maybank, RHB and HSBC will similarly offer the service free for their retail customers.

FAST can be accessed through online or mobile banking around the clock. Several banks, such as OCBC and UOB, are also making it available on their ATMs.

Ref: http://www.todayonline.com/business/fast...t-march-17

Tried it and it works nicely. No more losing interest with money wandering in cyber space for few days. I wonder if payment for share purchases, dividends, etc can benefit from this as well.

(22-03-2014, 10:51 AM)egghead Wrote: [ -> ]Tried it and it works nicely. No more losing interest with money wandering in cyber space for few days. I wonder if payment for share purchases, dividends, etc can benefit from this as well.

I am yet to use the service. Share payment via EPS is immediate, right?