HomePay: Avoid Home Renovation Nightmares While Earning Credit Card Rewards!
Update: note that there has been changes to the MCC
One of the major milestones in life has to be getting your very own place to call home. Perhaps an even greater sense of satisfaction than that is when you have renovated the place into something that you truly feel comfortable in.
Transforming a place into a home, unfortunately, can be a very daunting task. We’ve all heard of errant interior design (ID) firms and horror stories of renovation projects gone wrong. In 2022 alone, Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 1,454 complaints relating to renovation projects gone awry. Such an experience can quickly turn a joyous life event into a nightmare.
Even if things go right, quite a few ID firms don’t accept credit cards. Renovation can cost quite a bit, and that’s a lot of miles and cashback that we miss out on if we can’t use our credit cards to pay for it.
This is where HomePay comes in useful to make life better for homeowners. Not only does HomePay aim to provide homeowners more protection when we make payments to ID firms, we also get a really nice side benefit – earning our credit card rewards!
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How does HomePay work?
HomePay is Singapore’s first renovation escrow payment app. When users make payment to their ID firm, funds are held in a DBS custodian account and will only be released in stages according to the terms of the renovation agreement.
For instance, your $100,000 renovation project could consist of four different tranches, each with a pre-agreed amount:
| Tranche | Description | Amount |
| 1 – 10% | Design stage | S$10,000 |
| 2 – 40% | Upon start of works | S$40,000 |
| 3 – 45% | Finalisation of the entire renovation | S$45,000 |
| 4 – 5% | Touch-ups and handover | S$5,000 |
When Tranche 1 begins, the homeowner will pay S$10,000 via their credit card. 50% of the 1st tranche ($5,000) will be paid out to the ID firm to begin work while the other 50% ($5,000) will be held in the DBS custodian account. After the design is completed and presented to the homeowner, the homeowner would then approve the completion of Tranche 1 so that the balance 50% will be paid out to the ID firm.
This process then repeats for the remaining stages so that the homeowner can be more assured that their payment is released to the ID firm only upon satisfactory completion of each stage.
The app currently only works with ID firms that have registered with the platform. If you wish to make payments to an ID firm who have yet to be onboarded, you can either contact HomePay to reach out to the firm, or tell the firm to sign up for HomePay themselves.
Monitor and manage the renovation with the app
HomePay is an app that allows homeowners to oversee the renovation payments on-the-go. The ID firm will also use the app to provide updates, photos and videos on the renovation works so that the homeowner is kept informed on the progress. If the homeowner is satisfied that a particular tranche is completed, they may use the app to approve the release of the funds to the ID firm. Otherwise, they can also use the app to highlight issues for the ID firm to rectify before money is released.
Renovation projects are hardly static and can evolve as the process moves along. Should the homeowner wish to add more things to the project, they can also discuss it with their ID. Upon agreement of both parties, a Variation Order can be created within the app to formalise these additions. This makes ad-hoc requests official and ensures that everyone’s interests are guarded fairly to reduce the potential for disputes.
Earn credit card rewards!
There are two ways that one can top up their HomePay wallet – via bank transfer or by using a credit card. While bank transfers are at no cost, there is a 2% processing fee for using a credit card which is an industry-low rate.
I suspect, however, there would be many who would be more than willing to pay this fee to earn credit card rewards. HomePay tells me that their Merchant Category Code (MCC) is 5734 for Computer Software Stores. Update: HomePay has told me in June 2026 that the MCC is now 5712 for Furniture, Home Furnishings, and Equipment Stores (except Appliances). This is retail spend and is eligible to earn rewards on many credit cards as well as meet the spend requirement for sign-up bonuses.
As a payment platform, the transaction would also be considered online transactions and hence clock 4 miles per dollar from things like DBS Woman’s World Mastercard and Citi Rewards. Citi SMRT would also be a stellar card to use for these payments, giving as much as 5% cashback on up to S$12,000 of spend within a year. At 2%, the processing fee is also low enough that even using cards that give between 1.3 to 1.5 miles per dollar can make sense for those who value the experience of business class flights.
More rewards: get a sign-up bonus and additional discount
On top of the credit card rewards you can get, HomePay is sponsoring your first project’s admin fee (valued at S$200) – simply select the promo code FIRSTPROJECT before check-out. When you use my code SETHISFY to sign up for the service, you get an additional S$50 discount off your renovation contract sum.
In addition to these benefits, there is also a Tesla giveaway running until 6th December 2024 where one lucky winner can get a Tesla 3! Simply sign up and make your first payment with HomePay to stand a chance.
Safeguarding of funds
For the avoidance of doubt, funds added to your HomePay account that are held in the custodian account are kept separate from HomePay’s operating expenses. This will keep the money safe even in the event HomePay ceases to be in business.
Also, the wallet system used by HomePay is MAS-approved.
Useful service, great rewards
The way I see it, HomePay provides 2 very compelling purposes, the first being a solution to protect and safeguard homeowners’ funds during their renovation journey. The second is to provide a way for ID firm homeowners to get substantial credit card rewards from their renovation expenses. Any one of these purposes would justify the existence of such a service, but HomePay solves both issues.
If you’re on the journey to buy and renovate a new place or intend to spruce up your current home, definitely take a look at what HomePay can offer and protect yourself in the process.
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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.
He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.
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