LiquidPay 2.0: Earn credit card miles at QR code-only merchants

With the demise of XNAP, and more recently AMEX Pay, the options for earning miles at QR code-only merchants such as hawkers and mom-and-pop shops have pretty much dried up.

But now there’s hope, because Liquid Group has relaunched LiquidPay. While ostensibly positioned as a way for users to make low-fee cross-border payments, it also supports QR code payments — in particular NETS QR, which is widely used by hawker stalls. 

This basically allows you to pay QR codes with credit cards and earn 4 mpd in the process…at least until further notice.

How LiquidPay 2.0 works

LiquidPay 2.0 was launched last week, boasting an all-new interface that allows users to make overseas and local payments, as well as remittances. 

Setting up the LiquidPay app requires you to verify your identity through Singpass. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to make payments at QR code merchants using one of two methods:

• Cards
• Liquid Account

Cards

If the QR code displays a XNAP or LiquidPay logo, you can use credit or debit cards to pay and earn rewards accordingly. 

Here’s an example of a compatible QR code for you to try at home. 

When you scan this code with the LiquidPay app, you’ll have the option of paying with any of the cards you’ve linked to the app.

Based on data points from the community, these transactions code as MCC 5399 Misc. General Merchandise Stores. This MCC is not only rewards-eligible, it’s also whitelisted for bonuses on several specialised spending cards.

Basically, you should be able to scan to pay at any NETS QR terminal, which are commonly found in hawker centres across the island.

Liquid Account

If the QR code does not have a XNAP or LiquidPay logo, you may still be able to scan to pay — but only using a Liquid Account wallet balance. 

Here’s an example of an incompatible QR code for you to test at home.

When you scan this code with the LiquidPay app, you’ll be prompted to make a PayNow transfer, which in turn requires a sufficient balance in your Liquid Account.

Wallet balances can be topped up using PayNow (free) or debit cards (1% fee).

Interestingly, when I attempted to make a top-up, the transaction coded as MCC 5399, and not 6540 as I was expecting. 

Before you get too excited, however, remember that top-ups are limited to debit cards (if you attempt to add a credit card, the linking process will complete successfully, but the card won’t appear as selectable). Therefore, the reward opportunities aren’t great here…or are they?

You could pay with an Amaze-linked Citi Rewards Card or Maybank XL Rewards Card and earn 4 mpd, though you would incur a 1% fee from LiquidPay, and an additional 1% fee from Amaze (since it’s an SGD-denominated transaction). A 2% fee for 4 mpd on PayNow transactions? That’s 0.5 cents per mile. Hmmmm…

Mind you, I haven’t actually tested this route myself, but so long as the top-up codes as MCC 5399, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. 

As for wallet limits, here’s where it gets confusing. The LiquidPay app shows a wallet limit of S$5,000, and an annual limit of S$30,000. However, there is a toggle switch you can activate for higher limits, which would boost the wallet and annual limit to S$20,000 and S$100,000 respectively.

When I try to hit the toggle, however, I receive an error message saying “standard limits cannot be applied because the requested stock cap 20,000.00 exceeds the current regulatory stock cap 5,000.00”. My guess is that Liquid Group is in the midst of getting MAS approval to raise its transaction limits, as Revolut and YouTrip have already done, so this feature will only come online later.

What card to use with LiquidPay?

Card payments made through LiquidPay code as MCC 5399, so you can use the following cards to earn up to 4 mpd.

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per s. month
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Earn 8 mpd on up to S$1.2K per c. month with S$50K EGA deposit
UOB Preferred Visa Apply	4 mpd	Max S$600 per c. month
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$500 max S$1K per c. month
KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card Apply	2.4 mpd	Min. S$1K spend on SIA Group in a m. year

Cashback options would include the UOB EVOL, Maybank Family & Friends, DCS Flex and Citi SMRT Card.

Conclusion

LiquidPay 2.0 allows you to pay with credit cards at QR code-only merchants, earning up to 4 mpd in the process. It remains to be seen how long this goes on for — the interchange on these transactions must be negligible — but in the meantime make all the hay you can.