Singtel enhances Dash mobile wallet

Singtel has added new functionality to its mobile wallet app Singtel Dash in a bid to claim a larger slice of the mobile payments pie.

Singtel Dash was first launched in 2014 as a collaboration between Singtel and Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. The carrier-agnostic service is open to all users in Singapore with an iOS or Android mobile device.

New features added to Singtel Dash include the addition of savings accounts from five additional banks (Citibank, DBS, OCBC, POSB and UOB) as Dash wallet funding sources. Previously, Dash wallets could only be funded via a Standard Chartered Bank savings account or through post-paid Singtel users’ carrier bills. This is a move aimed at expanding Dash’s existing user base.

The telco has also added a foreign remittance service to Dash so funds from users’ Dash wallets can be remitted to four countries: China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. This function enables Dash users in Singapore to transfer funds to payees in these countries holding accounts from supported banks.

This function was made possible through Singtel’s collaboration with remittance partners in the four countries, and may be viewed as an extension of Singtel’s current mRemit service.

Dash users can also transfer funds to users of GCash in the Philippines. GCash is the mobile wallet product offered by the Philippines’ Globe Telecom, of which Singtel owns a controlling stake. Foreign remittance payees will be able to receive funds immediately.

Singtel has meanwhile upgraded its backend system to better support the use of Dash for taxi ride payments. Previously, customers needed to enter a taxi’s license number in order to complete a payment transaction. A new cloud-based solution developed by Singtel has now automated this process.