Daily Briefing: Singapore defaults boost calls for aid; Singapore to update electronic payment laws

And here’s the deal on paying with your smartphone.

Singaporean companies struggling to meet debt obligations as oil prices slump may get more support from the government if the economy deteriorates further, according to global auditing firm EY. UBS Group AG’s wealth management unit warns more defaults are possible. “It’s possible that off-budget measures may be introduced, as the government has done previously, to help these businesses tide over the slowdown should economic conditions worsen,” said Chia Seng Chye, a tax partner at EY in Singapore. Read more here.

Singapore will make regulatory changes to facilitate the use of electronic payments, the central bank said on Friday, as the city-state aims to become a major centre for financial technology (fintech). "Our vision is to make Singapore an electronic payments society, a society that spurs innovation in payments technology, that gives consumers maximum convenience and confidence in making payments," said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Find out more here.

From Apple Pay to Samsung Pay, from Dash to MasterPass, there are more ways than ever before to pay using your smartphone in Singapore today. There are, in fact, so many options that it can get downright confusing. I know I was confused many times over while writing this article — and that’s why we decided to compile this one stop, easy to understand guide to mobile payments. Read more here.