Singapore Payments Network (SPaN), the not-for-profit body that will own Singapore’s national payment schemes, has appointed Derek Chan as its first chief executive and named an 11-member board. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced the appointments on October 28.
Chan has close to two decades in payments, including roles at global card schemes and as chief business officer of Banking Computer Services, which operates the core clearing infrastructure in Singapore. The board is chaired by Jacqueline Loh, MAS deputy managing director for corporate development. From November 1 she moves to a principal adviser role in the office of the MAS managing director and keeps the SPaN chair. The details:
- Operations start in early 2027
- Schemes in scope include FAST, PayNow, Inter-bank GIRO, eGIRO, cheque clearing and the SGQR code, now administered by the Singapore Clearing House Association, ABS, and MAS with IMDA
- Board make-up set in 2025: 2 MAS representatives, 5 from bank and non-bank financial institutions and 4 independent directors
MAS and ABS incorporated SPaN in June 2025 to bring the governance of these schemes under one owner. According to the release, its first task is a stable transfer of the schemes from their current administrators. After that it is to strengthen operational resilience, modernise the core infrastructure and extend regional connections.
Why it matters: Singapore’s payment schemes are administered today by three separate bodies, so a change that touches several of them, such as a new cross-border link for PayNow or a new use for SGQR, needs agreement across all three. A single owner, chaired from MAS and run by a former infrastructure executive, puts those decisions in one place. Malaysia already works this way through PayNet, which this week used its scheme ownership to open QR payments in five new markets.
Source: MAS and ABS joint media release, October 28, 2026; The Business Times, October 28, 2026; MAS and ABS release on the incorporation of SPaN, June 25, 2025
Image: Wishds, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
