Answers / Loyalty programs
What is SGQR and how do I use it for loyalty?
Written by PEKO Team.Last updated: 05/23/2026.
SGQR is Singapore's unified Quick Response payment standard, accepting PayNow, NETS, GrabPay, and most major wallets through one QR. For loyalty, the payer reference inside each SGQR transaction is used to recognise returning customers without any app download.
Published: 05/23/2026
SGQR is the unified Singapore Quick Response code standard launched by MAS and IMDA in 2018. It consolidates more than 27 separate payment QR schemes into a single QR code — so one sticker on the counter accepts PayNow, NETS, GrabPay, DBS PayLah, OCBC Pay Anyone, and most other major Singapore wallets and bank apps.
For loyalty, what matters is that each SGQR-routed transaction exposes a payer reference the operator's retention layer can hash and match against its customer record. The customer pays as normal; the loyalty system reads the reference; the visit count, basket history, and churn score update automatically. No card, no app download, no manual identification at the counter.
Operators typically combine SGQR loyalty with PayNow cashback (settled back via the same rail) and WhatsApp Business broadcasts (handling the outbound message). The bundle is the dominant Singapore F&B loyalty pattern in 2026 because it removes every onboarding friction point that older loyalty UX struggled with.
Use the same sticker across every outlet
SGQR's consolidation only pays back if you actually deploy it at every outlet — fragmenting between SGQR and wallet-specific QRs splits your customer record.
Hash the payer reference, don't store raw
Standard PDPA hygiene: hash the payer reference at ingest and store only the hash. The retention layer matches on hash without ever holding raw identifiers.
Skip stamp cards entirely once SGQR loyalty is live
Running both creates two records per customer. Pick the SGQR rail and retire the stamp cards.
FAQ
Is SGQR free for merchants?
The QR itself is free to deploy. Transaction fees vary by wallet — PayNow is generally free for low-value transactions, others charge a small MDR.
Do all wallets expose a usable payer reference?
PayNow and NETS expose stable, hashable references. Some closed-loop wallets anonymise — for those the loyalty layer falls back to opt-in WhatsApp capture at the counter.
Is SGQR being replaced?
No. SGQR remains the unified standard. New wallets and rails (e.g. cross-border QR with Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia) extend SGQR rather than replace it.
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