United Overseas Bank (UOB) announced on 4 November the launch of UOB mCollect, a QR-based collections solution that digitalizes the cash-on-delivery model. With UOB mCollect, businesses will be able to collect payments from their buyers via PayNow at the point of delivery, helping them reduce the risk inherent in handling cash while also improving cash flow and productivity.
According to UOB data, more than two thirds of the Bank’s corporate customers still receive cash payments from buyers who tend to be small businesses. As a result, these businesses have to handle cash, leading to avoidable security and fraud risk. In addition, businesses need to dedicate resources to manage manual processes such as verifying payments collected and reconciling collections against invoices.
UOB mCollect allows a businesses’ employees to generate a QR code which the customer scans to make payment. After payment is made, funds are credited to the supplier’s account immediately via PayNow and a notification of the transaction is sent.
Payments collected through UOB mCollect are reconciled automatically, reducing the need for manual processing and cutting down the time needed to manage their account receivables by half . The ability to collect payments on the spot also helps businesses to improve their cash flow, particularly as companies continue to experience payment delays.
Ms So Lay Hua, Head of Group Transaction Banking, Group Wholesale Banking, UOB, said that with UOB mCollect the risks of handling physical cash is reduced, and businesses can streamline their reconciliation process.
Boong Food, a company under Boong Group, piloted the use of UOB mCollect. Boong Food is in the business of food processing and packaging and also supplies both fresh and frozen meat to about 800 companies in Singapore.
Mr Steve Wong, CEO, Boong Group, said, “We make hundreds of deliveries every day. When collecting payment, which is often made by cash, our salespeople have to spend time verifying the amount and payee details and tallying the payments at the end of the day. This manual process not only creates room for human error, but also takes up valuable time and resources.”
Introducing UOB mCollect not only made the work of salespeople easier, but also benefitted the company’s finance team as the payments received were automatically reconciled against each invoice, he added.
Another company that has tried UOB mCollect is Goodair, a homegrown business supplying and servicing air-conditioning units for residential properties as well as commercial and industrial projects.
Ms Mabel Wan, Finance Manager, Goodair, shared that a dynamic PayNow QR Code is generated and embedded in the invoices issued to customers, allowing technicians to collect payments on the spot, shortening the time taken to receive payments.
