DBS PayLah! users can now pay at more than 100 million merchants across China

SINGAPORE – Singaporeans travelling in China can now make QR code payments with their DBS PayLah! app at more than 100 million merchants across the country, without incurring additional transaction fees.

In a statement on Nov 12, DBS Bank announced that app users can make QR payments both ways at these Alipay and Weixin Pay partner merchants, which range from popular retailers such as Pop Mart and Songmont, to neighbourhood shops and restaurants.

The move, DBS said, makes it the

first local bank to support QR payment methods across all three major QR payment eco-systems

in China, adding to its existing UnionPay tie-up.

With the integration, DBS PayLah! users can conduct two-way QR transactions at major retail chains, paying with competitive exchange rates and with no additional transaction fees.

They can either scan the merchant’s code or generate a code for the merchant to scan. Before confirming payments, they can also view the amount in Chinese yuan, the applicable exchange rate, and the Singapore dollar equivalent.

DBS’ expanded payment offering comes on the back of growing post-pandemic travel to China. According to China’s National Immigration Administration, foreign visitors took 11.6 million trips to the country from July to September 2026, which is 15.6% more than the same time the year before.

Singapore was among the top 10 countries for foreign visitor arrivals in that period.

“Payments are key to discovering everything China has to offer, especially as customer interest in ‘China-maxxing’ continues to rise,” said Calvin Ong, head of the consumer banking group at DBS Singapore.

He added that the partnerships with financial technology companies Ant International and TenPay Global allow users to transact without requiring Chinese merchants to alter their existing check-out set-ups.

Beyond China, DBS has been steadily plugging its payments app into regional clearing networks, including Malaysia’s DuitNow, Thailand’s PromptPay, and Indonesia’s QRIS.

The bank also announced in October that DBS PayLah! is now accepted at shops displaying the Taiwan QR Code (TWQR) acceptance mark or QR payment notices bearing the TWQR label.