Singapore · Merchant fees (MDR)
Nine ways a small Singapore restaurant can take money — direct bank PayNow, GrabPay, DBS MAX, ShopBack Pay, HitPay, KPay, 2C2P, Stripe and Airwallex — compared across PayNow, DBS PayLah!, Mastercard and Visa, at the S$15–30 tickets a neighbourhood restaurant actually rings up.
Percent-only fees look tiny until a fixed S$0.50 lands on a S$20 bill — that's 2.5% before the percentage even starts. Drag the ticket size and see what each published rate really takes, per transaction and across a month.
Published per-transaction fees by provider and method, plus whether a payment can confirm itself to an order system in real time. “Quote” means the provider publishes no rate card — the number only exists in a sales conversation. A customer paying with PayLah! at a physical QR code is on the PayNow rail regardless of provider — DBS states this outright — so counter PayLah! costs whatever that QR's PayNow rate is.
| Provider | PayNow | DBS PayLah! | Mastercard | Visa | API / webhooks for payment status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank PayNow via SGQRYour own DBS / UOB / OCBC account — no aggregator in the middle | ~S$0 Effectively freeNominal S$0.20/txn waived at the major banks; waiver windows shift, so confirm with your own bank | Same as PayNowPayLah! scans settle over the PayNow rail at a physical QR | Not supported — bank-to-bank QR only; cards need an acquirer | Not supported | No direct webhookPayment alerts come via the banking app / IDEAL credit alerts. API callbacks only via corporate bank APIs (e.g. DBS RAPID, for corporate customers) |
| DBS MAXDBS's own merchant QR + tap-to-phone app | 0.25%MAX app QR. Via MAX API checkout: 0.50%. New app sign-ups get a 6-month PayNow fee waiver | 0.25% at the counterIn-store PayLah! QR runs on the PayNow scheme. PayLah! Express checkout (online): rate not published | 2.50%Contactless via MAX app Tap-to-Phone, incl. Apple / Google Pay | 2.50%Contactless via MAX app Tap-to-Phone | Portal + API planTransactions viewable on the IDEAL MAX portal; payment-status notifications available on the MAX API plan |
| HitPaySG aggregator; MAS Major Payment Institution | 0.4% In person, min S$0.10. Online: 0.65% + S$0.30 on S$100+; 0.9% (min S$0.20) below S$100 | PayNow rateListed among HitPay's local e-wallets; in-person QR scans settle on the PayNow rail | 2.5% + S$0.50In person, domestic. Online 2.8% + S$0.50; international 3.2% in person / 3.65% online | 2.5% + S$0.50Same card pricing as Mastercard | YesReal-time payment notifications plus API webhooks registered in the dashboard |
| StripeOnline-first gateway | 1.3%Per successful transfer; customer gets instant confirmation, funds available T+1 business day | Not supported | 3.4% + S$0.50Domestic. +0.5% international cards, +2% currency conversion | 3.4% + S$0.50Same card pricing as Mastercard | YesFull webhook support, including PayNow confirmation events |
| AirwallexOnline payments + multi-currency wallet | ~1% + S$0.50Best-reported figure (Xendit comparison, Sep 2026) — Airwallex does not publish a PayNow rate itself. S$0.50 is its standard per-transaction gateway fee | Not supported | 3.30% + S$0.50Domestic. International 3.60% + S$0.50; FX conversion 2% | 3.30% + S$0.50Same card pricing as Mastercard | YesWebhooks fire on payment_intent.succeeded |
| GrabPay / Grab for BusinessGrabPay wallet acceptance, in-store QR + online | Quote onlySupported in-store via the GrabMerchant app — Grab's merchant QR accepts GrabPay, PayNow and Alipay+ — but the in-store QR MDR is not published | Not supported | 3.4% + S$0.50GrabPay Online checkout only. GrabPay wallet itself: 3.3% online. In-store QR MDR not published | 3.4% + S$0.50GrabPay Online checkout only | App + online APIMerchant app notifications in real time; webhooks available on the online API integration |
| ShopBack PayShopBack's own wallet / pay-later rail — not a card acquirer | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported — ShopBack Pay is its own rail | Not supported — ShopBack Pay is its own rail | Yes (direct)Partner API and webhooks for direct merchants. Via HitPay, confirmation runs through HitPay's webhooks instead |
| KPayQR terminals + POS; SG MPI licence granted Oct 2026 | Quote onlySupported via QR terminal in SG; rate not published | Not listed among supported methods | Quote onlyRate not published. A Dec 2024 DigFin report put KPay around ~1.5% cards / ~1.2% e-wallets — APAC-wide, not SG-verified | Quote onlyRate not published | Not published |
| 2C2PRegional gateway; in-store via softPOS partner | Quote onlySupported online and in-store (softPOS QR); rate not published | Not listed among supported methods | Quote onlyRate not published | Quote onlyRate not published | YesServer-to-server payment notification callbacks via the PGW API |
The fees are only half the decision — setup cost, when the money actually arrives, and whether a paid PayNow can confirm an order automatically matter just as much at the counter. Tap a provider for the full picture.
Researched 20 Oct 2026. “Read live” = the page was opened and read during research; “index” = taken from search results over the provider's own or reputable third-party pages.