QR payments are coming... DBS, OCBC and UOB need a quick response

SINGAPORE (Aug 31): When is something money and not just a cowrie shell? When you can pay taxes with it. Or that's the argument of chartalists, the folks who see the state's hand behind the origins of all manner of money.

So don't be surprised if in a couple of years, the tax authorities in Singapore send a QR code with their annual bill. Scan this modern-day cowrie shell, and you'll get a thank-you SMS for contributing to nation-building.

The city-state's enthusiasm for the mobile-readable quick response code can be gauged from a task force set up this week by the central bank's payments council. The goal is to have the specifications for a common QR code for Singapore ready by the end of 2017. Interestingly, all three local banks -- DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and United Overseas Bank -- are part of this group, as is FOMO Pay, a startup that helps merchants accept WeChat and Baidu Wallet payments from Chinese customers.

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