Electronic Deferred Payment

Electronic Deferred Payment (EDP) and EDP+ are new solutions that enable you to make and receive deferred payments in place of cheques.

They complement existing e-payment methods, such as PayNow, FAST, GIRO and MEPS+.

The key difference between these two solutions lies in when funds are deducted from the payer’s account:

• EDP: Functions as a digital alternative to post-dated cheques. Funds are deducted from the payer’s account only when the payee requests payment, i.e. upon presentment of the EDP.
• EDP+: Functions as a digital alternative to cashier's orders. Funds are deducted immediately from the payer’s account upon issuance of the EDP+, ensuring the amount cannot be used for other transactions. This reduces the risk of non-payment due to insufficient funds in the payer’s account, providing greater assurance to both the payer and payee as compared to EDP.

Some benefits of EDP/EDP+ include:

• Status updates: Upon enabling alerts, both payer and payee receive real-time updates on status changes
• Full traceability: Clear visibility of when and why a payment was made, from whom and to whom
• Ease of reconciliation: Simplified reconciliation process for accurate record-keeping
• Reduced administrative costs: Minimised manual paperwork, tracking and associated costs
• Sustainability: Eliminates the need for paper cheques

EDP and EDP+ is available via DBS’ digibank and IDEAL platforms for retail and corporate customers, respectively.

For corporate customers, the following IDEAL users have been enabled to issue and present (cash out) EDP/EDP+:
 

If your company has IDEAL Enquiry Users only,

• All Enquiry Users will be able to present (cash out) EDP/EDP+

If your company has IDEAL Transact and Enquiry Users,

• All Transact Maker Users can initiate an EDP/EDP+ and present (cash out) EDP/EDP+
• All Transact Approver Users can approve the issuance of an EDP/EDP+ and present (cash out) EDP/EDP+

Please fill this form if you wish to make amendments to this arrangement.

EDP and EDP+ will be made available at launch via DBS’ digibank and IDEAL platforms for retail and corporate customers, respectively. There is no need to sign up.

There is no need to sign up for EDP and EDP+ as these are available via DBS’ digibank and IDEAL platforms for retail and corporate customers respectively.

If you have not signed up for DBS IDEAL, you may apply for access here.

Corporate customers are highly encouraged to set up EDP alerts in IDEAL. This will ensure notifications are sent to you when an EDP or EDP+ is issued and received.

Please refer to the EDP Guide to learn more on how to use EDP/EDP+ and set up EDP alerts in IDEAL.

DBS will waive EDP/EDP+ fees until 30 June 2026.

EDP/EDP+ services are available 24/7.

EDP: During the presentment of an EDP, the payor bank will secure funds from the payor’s account before confirming that the presentment (cash out) is successful. 

When presentment (cash out) is successful, DBS will change the status of the EDP/EDP+ to “Cashed Out”.

EDP+: When an EDP+ is issued, the payor bank will debit the payor’s account immediately. 

If both payor and payee are banking with DBS:

• Funds will be credited to payee on the same day after presentment (cash out) is successful.

If the payor is banking with another bank:

• The settlement of funds is dependent on the cut off time of the payor bank.
• The earliest bank cut off time is 12pm, hence for presentments before 12pm, funds will be received on T+1 business day (BD).
• For presentments (cash outs) after 12pm, funds will be received on T+1 BD or T+2 BD, depending on the cut-off time of the payor bank

At the outset, EDP and EDP+ will only be available for domestic payments in SGD. For international payments, or payments in USD, the issuer may continue to use any prevailing payment methods offered by DBS, such as telegraphic transfers.

EDP and EDP+ are digital alternatives to post-dated cheques and cashier’s orders respectively to facilitate the sunsetting of corporate cheques by end-2026.

• From 1 January 2026: All banks will stop issuing new SGD corporate cheque books
• From 1 January 2027: All banks will stop processing SGD corporate cheques

EDP and EDP+ complement the current suite of e-payment solutions, such as PayNow, FAST, GIRO and MEPS+, providing customers with greater efficiency and convenience when making and collecting payments.

Learn more about how your company will be impacted by the corporate cheque cessation at #gochequeless