Can Law Firms Take Card or PayNow Payments Online in Singapore?

What the Law Society says about electronic payments

The Law Society's Practice Direction 5.3.1 (dated 17 December 2020) covers the use of electronic payment methods for solicitors' bills of costs, including disbursements, and for other payments made to a law practice by a client. It says law practices are free to decide which payment methods to accept. If a practice uses electronic payments, it must continue to comply with the Solicitors' Accounts Rules.

Its Annex A lists examples of electronic payment methods: debit cards such as NETS, credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners and UnionPay), e-wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and PayLah!, mobile payments including PayNow, PayNow Corporate, GIRO and telegraphic transfers, and FAST payments.

Who pays the card or gateway fee

Practice Direction 5.3.1 Part B notes that the card fee (merchant discount rate) is deducted by the bank or provider, so the practice receives its bill minus the fee. It permits three arrangements for these transaction fees:

The practice direction adds that the Council does not treat any of these arrangements as fee sharing with the payment provider under rule 19 of the Professional Conduct Rules. It warns that a payment channel which also charges referral fees for sending clients to the practice is a different matter. Check your gateway's terms too: some providers restrict surcharging.

Client money vs office money under the Solicitors' Accounts Rules

The Legal Profession (Solicitors' Accounts) Rules set the key distinction. 'Client's money' is money held or received for a person the solicitor acts for. It excludes money to which only the solicitor (or the firm's partners) is entitled, and conveyancing money, which has its own rules.

• Rule 3(1): client's money must be paid into a client account without delay.
• Rule 6: no money other than what the rules allow may be paid into a client account, and money paid in by mistake must be withdrawn without delay on discovery.
• Rule 5(3): if a single payment mixes client's money and other money, the solicitor may split it where practicable; if not split, it goes into the client account.
• Rule 7(1)(a)(iv): money can be drawn for costs only after a bill or written intimation of costs has been delivered and the client told the money will be applied to it.

In practice: a client paying a delivered invoice for work already done is paying the firm's own money. A client paying a deposit on account of future costs, or money to be paid on to someone else, is usually paying client's money.

Withdrawals from the client account: the two-solicitor rule

Online payments out of a client account are allowed, with safeguards. Under rule 8(5), no sum over S$5,000 may be drawn from a client account except by a cheque or instruction signed by two solicitors, or by an online digital payment authorised by two solicitors under the Council's practice directions. Rule 8(4A) bars withdrawals by ATM or telephone banking.

The Law Society's Practice Direction 3.3.11 on online digital payments (revised 23 May 2023) requires each authorising solicitor to log in to the bank's smartphone app with fingerprint or face recognition, and says such payments must not be made through a bank website in a browser. Solicitors with under three years in practice cannot authorise these withdrawals, per rule 8(7).

Payment gateway fees for law firms (October 2026)

Most firms choose between Stripe and HitPay. Standard published online rates, as of October 2026, before any negotiated pricing:

On a S$5,000 bill, a 3.4% card fee is S$170 plus 50 cents, while PayNow through a gateway is far cheaper. For large bills, clients may prefer direct PayNow or bank transfer to avoid any surcharge. See our guides to payment gateways in Singapore and Stripe fees.

A cautious way to set up online payments

The rules do not mention payment gateways by name, so the safest structure keeps gateway money clearly on one side of the client/office line. Confirm the approach with the Law Society's Practice and Ethics resources and your accountant before going live.

1. 1

   Decide which payments go online

   A common cautious choice: card and PayNow-by-link only for delivered bills of costs, which is office money.

2. 2

   Point gateway payouts to the office account

   Set the Stripe or HitPay payout bank account to the firm's office account, not the client account.

3. 3

   Keep client money off the gateway

   For deposits on account of costs, disbursement funds and settlement money, give clients the client account details for direct transfer or PayNow.

4. 4

   Choose your fee arrangement

   If passing on or sharing fees, add the engagement letter clause, get consent and itemise fees on each tax invoice, per PD 5.3.1.

5. 5

   Reconcile automatically

   Connect the gateway to Xero or QuickBooks so each payout matches invoices and fees are recorded separately.

6. 6

   Protect the payment link channel

   Send links only from your own system and tell clients you never change bank details by email.

Payment instructions are a fraud target for law firms. Our guide on stopping fake payment instructions covers call-back rules and email security. For website wording about payment options, check the law firm website publicity rules.

Do it yourself or get help?

Opening a Stripe or HitPay account and sending payment links is straightforward. The parts that need care are the payout account, the fee clause and the accounting reconciliation, so your accountant's report has nothing to query.

Our Online Payment Setup (S$290) sets up Stripe or HitPay in the firm's name with PayNow, cards and reusable payment links. Xero / QuickBooks Integration (S$390) connects payments and bank feeds so payouts and fees reconcile. We set up the systems; the decision on what counts as client money stays with the practice.