NETS Group has signed landmark agreements with Mastercard and Visa on March 14 to acquire their merchants directly in Singapore.
This means eligible NETS merchants will now be able to accept payments using NETS, Mastercard and Visa.
In addition, small businesses with a turnover of less than $1 million will be able to enjoy competitive merchant discount rates (MDR) for Mastercard and Visa payment schemes if they opt to include Mastercard and Visa as part of their payment methods.
At present, NETS merchants are able to accept payments from overseas wallets and foreign card payments such as WeChat Pay app. NETS also has existing arrangements to acquire merchants for American Express (Amex), Diners, Discover, JCB and UnionPay.
“We are constantly looking for ways to drive value-added solutions for our merchant partners. To do so, we are expanding our role to be an acquirer of choice to our merchants. NETS aims to be the single point of contact for all things payments for our merchant partners,” says Lawrence Chan, group CEO of NETS.
“Increasingly, consumers are opting to pay digitally and NETS will continue to support our merchant partners with the relevant merchant solutions. Our partnership with Mastercard and Visa is a big step forward for our heartland merchant partners as they can now easily tap on a comprehensive range of major payment options with less hassle and provide more choices to their consumers,” he adds.
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Deborah Heng, Singapore’s country manager for Mastercard says, “Mastercard has been leading the drive into inclusive digital commerce in Singapore for many years with frictionless and secure payment solutions. Through this partnership, Mastercard and NETS will provide merchants, including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which make up the majority of businesses here, with the convenience of fast and transparent payments experiences.”
She adds: “Merchants will also enjoy access to a wider consumer base and greater visibility and management of funds. Mastercard remains committed to working with partners to bring tailored and fuss-free solutions that benefit businesses of all sizes.”
Adeline Kim, the country manager for Visa’s Singapore and Brunei operations says, “Singapore consumers prefer to use card payments over cash in Singapore. As shoppers increasingly rely on digital payments, it is fundamental for small business owners to accept digital payments to drive the growth of their businesses.”
She adds: “In Visa’s Back to Business study, more than two in five Singaporeans have opted not to make a purchase due to the lack of digital payments acceptance at the shop. We are proud to partner with NETS so that more Visa cardholders can pay with their cards or mobile devices at more shops, particularly those in the heartland areas which previously did not have card acceptance. As the network working for everyone, Visa will continue working with our partners to drive increased adoption of digital payments for merchants across Singapore and power seamless and secure payment experiences.”
