Singtel partners Visa for its Dash mobile wallet app
Users of Singtel's Dash mobile wallet app can now tap to pay for goods and services at twice as many shops as before, thanks to its partnership with Visa.
The latest version of Dash, unveiled yesterday, comes with the Dash Visa function including a virtual 16-digit card number.
It allows Dash to be accepted at all 50,000 Visa PayWave contactless payment terminals here, including those at fast-food chain McDonald's and Cold Storage and FairPrice supermarkets.
Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Consumer division's chief executive officer, said: "Dash's goal is to deliver ubiquitous mobile payments for everyone in Singapore."
According to Visa, more than half of the total over-the-counter Visa card transactions in Singapore are contactless.
Ms Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa's country manager for Singapore and Brunei, said: "Singaporeans are becoming more digitally engaged and smartphones have become an integral part of their lives."
First launched three years ago, Dash works like the ez-link stored-value card.
Deductions will be made automatically from the Dash mobile wallet when users tap their phones on local merchants' contactless payment terminals.
Dash Visa's 16-digit card number can also be used to pay for goods and services from local online merchants or in locally-hosted apps.
Individuals such as students who do not have credit or debit cards can transact online.
However, Singtel is still getting regulatory approvals for Dash Visa to be accepted by overseas online merchants such as Amazon in the US, Book Depository and Uber.
The rollout of Dash Visa is yet another effort by the telco to grab a slice of the growing mobile payment market.
Visa's internal transaction numbers show that seven in 10 Visa cardholders use their cards on their mobile phones - be it for in-app purchases or via e-wallets.
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