Singapore’s OCBC Bank has launched a mobile keyboard that allows its customers to make peer-to-peer payments without having to exit their current mobile applications.

The OCBC Keyboard can be used within any mobile app or browser – for instance, within Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram or Chrome – to send money instantly to anyone with a bank account in Singapore, including those who have not yet registered for PayNow. The payment rides on the OCBC Pay Anyone e-payment service and can be completed using just the recipient’s mobile number.

The keyboard follows on the heels of the bank’s launch of e-payments integrated with Apple’s Siri and iMessage for iPhone users in 2016 – which enables customers to make instant funds transfers with a voice command to Siri or within the iMessage app while engaged in a chat.

Users can automatically access the OCBC Keyboard on any app on their mobile phones once they have updated the OCBC Mobile Banking app to the latest version. They will need to perform a one-time set up to enable the OCBC Keyboard and make it the default keyboard on their phone.

To send money, users simply tap on the OCBC Pay Anyone icon on the keyboard without exiting or switching from their current app activity. Once they select a recipient from their contact list - which is automatically synced with the keyboard - they will be guided to complete the transfer within the keyboard. Once the transaction is completed, the user can continue accessing the original app.

Aditya Gupta, OCBC Bank’s head of e-business, Singapore, said: “With OCBC Keyboard, we are embedding payments in our customers’ lives and making it completely frictionless for them to pay while they go about everyday tasks like chatting on Whatsapp, sending emails, buying items on Carousell or browsing the internet.

“I’m confident that this added convenience will exponentially increase the adoption and usage of e-payments, including PayNow transfers. We will continue to push the boundaries on e-payments and move the needle in driving Singapore towards becoming cashless.”

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