Several Southeast Asian countries run their own real-time payment systems, and a number of them are being linked together for cross-border payments. This page is a comparative reference to three of the best-known (Thailand’s PromptPay, Singapore’s FAST, and Malaysia’s DuitNow), showing how they fit the concepts covered elsewhere in this section.
This page is a high-level reference, not an integration guide. For the underlying ideas, see real-time A2A payments in depth.

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The three systems at a glance

PromptPay (Thailand)

Thailand’s real-time system, letting people pay to a mobile number or national ID instead of a bank account number, with heavy QR-code use.

FAST (Singapore)

Singapore’s Fast And Secure Transfers service, enabling near-instant transfers between bank accounts, complemented by the PayNow alias service.

DuitNow (Malaysia)

Malaysia’s real-time system, allowing transfers to a mobile number or ID and widely used through DuitNow QR.

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Shared traits

All three follow the same pattern you have seen in Australia, the US, and (increasingly) Japan:

Real-time and always on

Each settles payments in seconds, around the clock.

Alias-based addressing

Each lets customers pay to a simple identifier (a mobile number or national ID) much like PayID or UPI.

QR-friendly

QR codes are a common way to pay, especially at physical merchants.

Being linked across borders

These systems are progressively being connected so a customer in one country can pay someone in another in real time.

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Cross-border linking

A notable trend in the region is connecting these national systems so payments can flow between them directly. Initiatives to link fast-payment systems across Southeast Asia (and beyond) aim to make cross-border payments as quick and cheap as domestic ones. Japan’s planned new system is being designed with this kind of regional connection in mind.
This is an evolving area. The details of which systems are linked, and how, change over time. Use this page to understand the direction of travel rather than as a definitive list.

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How this connects to Hello Clever

Hello Clever’s multi-currency services focus on the APAC region, so these systems form the backdrop to cross-border payments in the area. For how Hello Clever handles multiple currencies and settlement, see multi-currency and cross-border.