7 Payment Gateways in Singapore for Canadian Businesses (2026)

Key Takeaways

Singapore runs on five payment rails — cards, PayNow, GrabPay, NETS, and Alipay/WeChat — and gateway coverage across these rails varies significantly between providers
Card processing rates in Singapore (3.4%–3.9% at most gateways) are noticeably higher than in markets like Australia; routing through PayNow can cut that cost to under 1% for eligible transactions
PhotonPay supports GrabPay acquiring alongside SGD local clearing, giving Canadian businesses direct access to Grab's Singapore user base without a local entity
HitPay offers the lowest verified PayNow rate on this list — 0.65% + S$0.30 for transactions above S$100 — a real cost advantage for businesses with high SGD invoice volume
2C2P is the purpose-built choice when Singapore is an entry point to the broader Southeast Asia market; it operates across 11+ countries in the region on a single integration

Singapore is the first gateway most Canadian businesses test when entering Southeast Asia — its regulatory environment, MAS-licensed financial system, and English-language legal infrastructure make it the default APAC entry point. The international payment gateway you choose there carries more weight than the decision in most single markets: coverage of GrabPay and PayNow determines your reach into Singapore's actual daily payment behavior, and the payment platforms you commit to now shape how easily you can extend into Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia later. This guide compares seven options across local payment rail coverage, fees, and fit for Canadian businesses at different stages.

Singapore's Five-Rail Payment Landscape — Why Gateway Coverage Matters More Here

Singapore's payment mix is more layered than most Western markets. Visa and Mastercard remain the default for online transactions, but five distinct rails carry meaningful share across different buyer segments — and each one requires your gateway to have specific acquiring arrangements to support it.

Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) still handle the bulk of online commerce, but Singapore's card rates are notably higher than comparable markets: Stripe charges 3.4% + S$0.50 for domestic cards, versus 1.7% + A$0.30 in Australia. That gap makes PayNow routing more economically valuable at scale.

PayNow — Singapore's real-time bank transfer system, launched in 2017 — is linked to NRIC/FIN numbers, mobile numbers, and UENs for businesses. It has near-universal adoption among Singapore's resident population and a fraction of card processing costs: HitPay charges 0.65% + S$0.30 for transactions above S$100. GrabPay is the payment arm of Grab, Southeast Asia's dominant super-app — founded in Singapore and retaining its strongest user density there, used daily for everything from retail checkout to food delivery.

NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers) is Singapore's domestic debit network, widely used at physical point-of-sale. Alipay and WeChat Pay serve Singapore's Chinese resident community and Chinese visitors. In 2018, Singapore introduced SGQR — a unified QR standard that consolidates PayNow, NETS, GrabPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay into a single scannable code. For Canadian businesses, what matters is which of these rails your chosen gateway actively supports. GrabPay and PayNow coverage in particular define where the real transactional differentiation lies.

7 Payment Gateways in Singapore — Quick Comparison

Provider	SGD Local Settlement	PayNow	GrabPay	Starting Fee	Best For
PhotonPay	✓	—	✓	Contact for pricing	GrabPay + SGD clearing, CAD FX
Stripe	✓	✓ (see site)	✓ (3.3%)	3.4% + S$0.50	Full method stack, dev-friendly
HitPay	✓	✓ (0.65% + S$0.30)	—	2.8% + S$0.50	PayNow specialist, SG-native
2C2P	✓	✓	✓	Custom (IC++)	SEA multi-country expansion
Adyen	✓	✓	✓	IC++ (volume-based)	Enterprise, global platform
Checkout.com	✓	✓	✓	Custom (contact sales)	APAC enterprise
PayPal	✓	—	—	3.9% + S$0.50	Consumer trust, supplementary

7 Payment Gateways in Singapore, Reviewed

PhotonPay — GrabPay Acquiring and SGD Local Clearing for Canadian Businesses

PhotonPay Checkout supports GrabPay acquiring and SGD local clearing for Canadian merchants — without requiring a Singapore entity or local bank account.

GrabPay acceptance is not standard across the gateways on this list. PhotonPay's position: GrabPay is built in alongside SGD local clearing, so Canadian businesses can reach Grab's dense Singapore user base through a single integration that also handles SGD settlement and CAD conversion. For merchants in consumer retail, travel, food, or any category where Grab's super-app users actively spend, that's meaningful coverage that requires no supplementary wallet integration.

GrabPay acquiring: accept payments from Singapore's leading super-app wallet, built directly into the checkout flow
SGD local clearing: payments settle through Singapore's local financial infrastructure — not through international wire routing
7×24 FX: real-time SGD/CAD rates around the clock; scheduled FX available to lock in rates ahead of time and reduce exposure to volatility
Online onboarding: apply and go live remotely — no Singapore entity or local bank account required
Built-in compliance: KYC/KYB, AML screening, and transaction monitoring across the onboarding and payment flow

Pros

✓ GrabPay built in — reaches Grab's Singapore users without a separate integration
✓ SGD clears locally — no international wire routing or correspondent bank deductions
✓ SGD-to-CAD FX managed within the platform — collection and conversion in one workflow
✓ Compliance included — KYC/KYB and AML across the full payment flow

Cons

✗ No published transaction rate — pricing requires direct inquiry

Ideal for: Canadian e-commerce, fintech, and marketplace businesses entering Singapore that need GrabPay coverage and want SGD to settle cleanly without maintaining a local entity.

Stripe — Full Singapore Payment Method Stack With Published Pricing

Stripe is available in Singapore with comprehensive local payment method support and transparent per-transaction pricing. Canadian businesses already running Stripe can extend the same integration to Singapore without rebuilding their checkout stack.

Verified rates (stripe.com/sg/pricing): 3.4% + S$0.50 for domestic Singapore cards; 3.9% + S$0.50 for international cards; 3.3% for GrabPay; 2.2% + S$0.35 for Alipay and WeChat Pay. Dispute fee: S$15.

Domestic card rate of 3.4% + S$0.50 is higher than comparable Western markets — PayNow routing becomes more cost-effective at scale
GrabPay: 3.3% — lower than the domestic card rate, which makes GrabPay routing economically attractive for eligible transactions
Alipay/WeChat Pay: 2.2% + S$0.35 — competitive for Chinese consumer segment
PayNow: supported — check stripe.com/sg/pricing for current rate (not listed separately on standard pricing page)
Full SG method stack: NETS, Apple Pay, Google Pay also available in one integration
Dispute fee: S$15 per dispute received; refunded if you win

Pros

✓ Widest published payment method coverage on this list — GrabPay, Alipay, PayNow, NETS all verifiable
✓ Transparent pricing — no sales process to get rates
✓ Fast setup; familiar tooling for Canadian dev teams already on Stripe

Cons

✗ Domestic card rate (3.4% + S$0.50) higher than HitPay for the same transaction type
✗ SGD-to-CAD conversion on payouts adds a separate cost layer not visible in the headline rate

Ideal for: Canadian businesses running standard online storefronts or SaaS products that want full Singapore payment method coverage and transparent pricing from day one.

HitPay — Singapore-Native Gateway With the Lowest Verified PayNow Rate

HitPay is a Singapore-native payment platform built specifically for the local market, with the most competitive PayNow rate on this list and a domestic card rate below Stripe's.

Verified rates (hitpayapp.com/pricing): 2.8% + S$0.50 for domestic cards online; 3.65% + S$0.50 for international cards; 0.65% + S$0.30 for PayNow (transactions ≥S$100); 0.9% (min S$0.20) for PayNow under S$100; 0.4% (min S$0.10) for in-person PayNow. No monthly fees.

PayNow (≥S$100): 0.65% + S$0.30 — the lowest verified PayNow rate on this list; reduces per-transaction cost significantly versus card processing
Domestic cards: 2.8% + S$0.50 — lower than Stripe's 3.4% + S$0.50 for the same card type
In-person PayNow via QR: 0.4% (min S$0.10) — relevant for physical retail, events, or pop-up operations
No monthly fees, no contracts — purely pay-per-transaction; no lock-in
FX surcharge on foreign-currency cards: +2% added to the card rate for non-SGD cards — factor this in for international buyer volume

HitPay's limitation is scope: it is a Singapore-focused platform. If your business plans to expand into Malaysia, Indonesia, or Thailand within the next year, you'll need to rebuild your payment infrastructure on a different platform. GrabPay is also not listed on HitPay's standard pricing — verify availability before onboarding if GrabPay coverage is part of your requirements.

Pros

✓ Lowest verified PayNow rate on this list — 0.65% + S$0.30 is a substantial cost advantage at volume
✓ Domestic card rate (2.8%) lower than Stripe; no monthly fees or lock-in
✓ Built specifically for Singapore — simple onboarding, strong local support

Cons

✗ Singapore-only — not a viable path to broader SEA market expansion
✗ GrabPay not listed on standard pricing; verify availability before committing

Ideal for: Canadian businesses collecting SGD at scale where PayNow is the dominant incoming payment method and minimizing per-transaction cost is the primary objective.

2C2P — Southeast Asia Specialist Founded in Singapore

2C2P is a Southeast Asia payments specialist headquartered in Singapore, operating in 11+ countries across the region. Its reference clients include Lazada, AirAsia, Changi Airport, and Lenovo — enterprise-scale organizations whose payment complexity across multiple Asian markets is close to the problem 2C2P is built to solve.

The case for 2C2P is structural: if your Canadian business is using Singapore as a staging market — if Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, or Vietnam are on the roadmap within 12–18 months — starting on 2C2P means you don't rebuild your payment infrastructure market by market. The coverage extends to over 600,000 over-the-counter payment locations across Asia, relevant for markets where digital payment infrastructure is thinner.

Full Singapore payment stack: cards, PayNow, GrabPay, NETS, Alipay, WeChat Pay
SEA coverage: 11+ countries — Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and more
600,000+ over-the-counter locations across Asia — covers cash-based payment behavior in emerging APAC markets
Custom IC++ pricing: enterprise sales process required; no published rates
Reference clients: Lazada, AirAsia, Changi Airport, Lenovo, Aviva, Thai Airways, Capella Hotels

Pros

✓ Best SEA coverage depth on this list — 11+ countries in a single integration
✓ Full Singapore payment method stack including GrabPay and PayNow
✓ Proven at enterprise scale with major Asian brands

Cons

✗ Custom pricing only — enterprise engagement required; not accessible for SMBs or early-stage merchants
✗ Higher integration complexity than standard gateway SDKs

Ideal for: Canadian businesses scaling into multiple Southeast Asian markets with Singapore as a regional hub, or enterprises already operating at volume in SEA.

Adyen — Global Enterprise Acquiring With Full Singapore Coverage

Adyen is a global payments platform with Singapore acquiring infrastructure and IC++ pricing for businesses with the transaction volume to benefit from it. For Canadian companies already running Adyen in North America, extending to Singapore adds no additional integration work — it is one platform, one dashboard, one reconciliation flow.

IC++ pricing: rates track the actual network cost plus a processing fee — no fixed per-transaction markup that adds up at scale
Full Singapore payment stack: cards, PayNow, GrabPay, NETS, Alipay, WeChat Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Single global platform: Canadian and Singapore operations in one integration, one dashboard, one reconciliation
Multi-currency settlement: SGD and CAD settlement available within the same platform
Minimum volume thresholds apply — Adyen's model is not designed for SMBs or early-stage merchants

Pros

✓ Best fee economics at high volume — IC++ reflects actual network costs, not flat markups
✓ Covers both Singapore and Canada in a single global integration
✓ Full Singapore payment method stack, verified

Cons

✗ Practical only above meaningful transaction volume — onboarding complexity and requirements don't suit SMBs
✗ Enterprise-level documentation and onboarding timeline

Ideal for: Canadian enterprises with significant Singapore and global transaction volumes that want a single acquiring platform across all their operating markets.

Checkout.com — APAC-Focused Enterprise Payments Platform

Checkout.com is an enterprise payments platform with a strong Asia-Pacific presence and Singapore acquiring. It operates with several consumer-facing brands across the region and covers the full Singapore payment method stack.

Full Singapore payment stack: PayNow, GrabPay, cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay, digital wallets
Approval rate optimization: built-in tools tuned specifically for Asia-Pacific transaction patterns and bank behaviors
Single APAC integration: Singapore alongside other APAC markets in one platform
Custom pricing: no published Singapore-specific rates; contact sales for a quote
Enterprise-focused: suited to businesses at meaningful transaction volume in the Asia-Pacific corridor

Checkout.com's key edge in APAC is approval rate tooling — it has built infrastructure specifically for the fraud and banking patterns of Asian markets, which have different decline and chargeback profiles than North American transactions. For Canadian businesses with high consumer-facing volume in Singapore, that can translate to a measurable improvement in authorization rates.

Pros

✓ Strong APAC infrastructure — tuned for the approval and fraud patterns specific to Asian markets
✓ Full Singapore payment method stack
✓ Single platform for Singapore and other APAC expansion markets

Cons

✗ No published pricing; requires enterprise sales engagement before you can evaluate cost
✗ Onboarding complexity and timeline; not accessible for smaller businesses

Ideal for: Canadian businesses with significant consumer-facing operations in Singapore and other APAC markets at enterprise transaction volumes.

PayPal — Consumer Trust at the Singapore Checkout Stage

PayPal has consumer brand recognition in Singapore and provides a trust signal for buyers unfamiliar with a merchant's brand. Setup is straightforward for Canadian businesses through a PayPal Business account, with no Singapore entity required.

Verified rates (paypal.com/sg): 3.9% + S$0.50 for domestic Singapore merchant transactions; 4.4% + S$0.50 for international transactions. Dispute fee: S$11 (standard), S$22 (high-volume threshold).

Domestic rate: 3.9% + S$0.50 — higher than Stripe (3.4%) and HitPay (2.8%) for the same card volume
PayPal wallet and linked cards accepted; PayNow and GrabPay not natively supported
Available to Canadian businesses via PayPal Business account — no Singapore entity required
Seller Protection covers eligible disputes for qualifying transaction types
International rate: 4.4% + S$0.50 — applies when the buyer is from a different market than the seller

PayPal's local method coverage in Singapore is narrow — PayNow and GrabPay, two of Singapore's most actively used daily payment rails, are not supported. As a standalone primary gateway for volume operations, the fee structure and method gaps are difficult to justify against the alternatives on this list. As a trust-building addition at checkout for buyers who want a familiar wallet, it adds a real consumer confidence layer — particularly for new merchant brands entering Singapore.

Pros

✓ Consumer trust signal — reduces checkout hesitation for buyers unfamiliar with the merchant
✓ Easy setup; no Singapore entity required for Canadian businesses

Cons

✗ Domestic rate (3.9% + S$0.50) higher than Stripe and HitPay for the same transaction
✗ No PayNow or GrabPay support — misses Singapore's two most cost-efficient and widely used local rails

Ideal for: B2C Canadian businesses at lower volume where checkout trust signals matter more than per-transaction rate optimization, used as a supplementary option alongside a primary gateway.

Using Singapore as Your APAC Payments Starting Point

Singapore's MAS-regulated financial system, English-language legal framework, and mature corporate infrastructure make it the default APAC entry point for Canadian businesses — not just as an end market, but as a regional base. The gateway decision looks different depending on which role Singapore is playing.

If Singapore is your only target — collecting SGD from Singaporean buyers, no regional expansion planned — the focus is on rail coverage and cost. HitPay delivers the lowest PayNow rate and strong domestic card pricing. PhotonPay adds GrabPay acquiring alongside local SGD clearing and a structured path to convert SGD to CAD — a combination most gateways leave to you separately. Setting up a proper

Setting up a proper international business account alongside your gateway is part of the same infrastructure conversation — it determines how SGD flows from your gateway into a usable business account and ultimately converts to CAD at a predictable cost.

If Singapore is a regional launch pad — Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, or Vietnam in the plan within 12–18 months — the gateway decision is about which platform gives you the widest SEA footprint without a rebuild. 2C2P covers 11+ countries in the region from a single integration. Adyen is the enterprise alternative for businesses that need Singapore alongside North American or European acquiring in one unified platform. Starting with a Singapore-only tool like HitPay and then switching when you expand into other SEA markets adds migration cost and timeline friction that's avoidable.

Singapore's MAS licensing framework is among the most rigorous in APAC. For Canadian businesses running B2B payment flows through Singapore — supplier payments, service contracts, inter-company transfers — the compliance layer on your gateway matters as much as the payment rail coverage. PhotonPay's built-in KYC/KYB and AML tooling addresses that directly.

How to Choose the Right Singapore Payment Gateway

The right choice depends on three variables.

First, which local payment rails you actually need. GrabPay coverage plus local SGD clearing points to PhotonPay. The lowest PayNow rate points to HitPay. Full method stack with published pricing points to Stripe. All three, alongside cards and Alipay, point to 2C2P or Adyen.

Second, your geographic scope. Single-market Singapore collection suits HitPay, PhotonPay, or Stripe. Multi-country SEA expansion requires 2C2P or Adyen. For businesses managing SGD alongside other currencies, maintaining a foreign currency account for SGD and converting to CAD on a scheduled basis reduces FX timing risk — and makes the gateway's FX layer a meaningful selection criterion.

Third, your transaction volume. SMBs and early-stage merchants: Stripe, HitPay, PhotonPay. Enterprise: Adyen, 2C2P, Checkout.com. A common configuration for Canadian businesses is a primary gateway for SGD local collection paired with PayPal as a supplementary consumer trust option at checkout. What matters most is that your primary gateway settles in SGD locally — not via a correspondent banking chain — and that the SGD-to-CAD conversion cost is transparent and modelled into your pricing from the start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Canadian businesses accept SGD in Singapore without a Singapore entity?

Yes. PhotonPay, Stripe, HitPay, and PayPal all support Canadian businesses collecting SGD without a Singapore-registered company. You will need to complete KYC and KYB verification, and documentation requirements vary by platform. Some gateways apply additional review steps for non-Singapore merchants — confirm merchant eligibility with each provider before starting your application.

What is PayNow and how does it work for Singapore merchants?

PayNow is Singapore's real-time bank transfer system, launched in 2017 and operated by the Association of Banks in Singapore. It links to NRIC/FIN numbers, mobile numbers, and UEN (Unique Entity Numbers) for businesses, enabling instant bank-to-bank transfers without card network intermediaries. For merchants, PayNow significantly reduces per-transaction cost compared to card processing: HitPay charges 0.65% + S$0.30 for PayNow transactions above S$100, versus 2.8%–3.4% + S$0.50 for domestic cards on the same platform or Stripe. For Canadian businesses with high SGD invoice volume, routing eligible transactions through PayNow rather than cards is one of the most direct cost levers available.

What makes GrabPay different from standard digital wallets in Singapore?

GrabPay is the payment arm of Grab — Southeast Asia's largest super-app by user base, founded in Singapore and with its highest daily active user density there. Unlike standalone payment wallets, GrabPay is embedded in Grab's full ecosystem: ride-hailing, food delivery, grocery, and financial services all transact through the same wallet balance. That means GrabPay users are active across multiple daily spending categories, not just a population that downloaded a payment app. For Canadian merchants in consumer retail, food, travel, or subscription categories, GrabPay coverage reaches buyers who use it as their primary wallet, not a secondary one.

How do card processing rates in Singapore compare to other APAC markets?

Singapore's card rates are among the higher ones in APAC. Stripe charges 3.4% + S$0.50 for domestic Singapore cards — compared to 1.7% + A$0.30 for domestic Australian cards on the same platform. The gap is large enough that it affects margin modelling at meaningful volume, and it is one reason why PayNow routing is more economically significant in Singapore than bank transfer rails are in most Western markets.

What is SGQR and does it affect which payment gateway I choose?

SGQR is Singapore's unified QR code standard, introduced in 2018, which consolidates PayNow, NETS, GrabPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay into a single scannable code. For physical retail operations, a single SGQR code displayed at the point of sale can accept all of the above payment methods — provided your gateway has the acquiring arrangements in place. SGQR doesn't change the gateway selection logic significantly, but it does mean that if your business has any physical Singapore presence, the method coverage of your gateway directly determines which rails that QR code is actually live on.

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