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MAS and Bank Negara Malaysia launch cross-border QR payment link

Jovi Ho
·3-min read

This payment linkage will allow customers to make retail payments by scanning NETS QR and DuitNow QR codes.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) have launched a cross-border QR code payment linkage between Singapore and Malaysia.

This payment linkage will allow customers of participating financial institutions to make retail payments by scanning NETS QR and DuitNow QR codes, says MAS in a March 31 press release.

“With pre-pandemic annual traffic between the two countries averaging 12 million visitors, the payment linkage will provide merchants and consumers with a more seamless and efficient means to make and receive payments,” says MAS.

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In the next phase, MAS and BNM plan to expand the payment linkage to enable cross-border account-to-account fund transfers and remittances. This will allow users to make real-time fund transfers between Singapore and Malaysia conveniently using just the recipient’s mobile phone number via PayNow and DuitNow.

This service is expected to go live by end-2023.

Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS, says: “The NETS-DuitNow QR code payment linkage is the latest addition to Singapore’s growing set of cross-border payment linkages. These linkages will help boost cross-border commerce and enable our merchants, especially small businesses to tap on a wider pool of consumers. This QR code linkage between Singapore and Malaysia is an important milestone in Asean’s journey towards seamless regional payments connectivity.”

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus says: “This is a significant step forward in realising the vision of an Asean network of fast, efficient and interconnected retail payment systems. The QR linkage between Malaysia and Singapore will benefit millions of commuters across the Causeway as well as business and leisure travellers. It will also be a boost to retail businesses in both countries. We will continue to work closely with our partners to accelerate our digitalisation agenda towards increased regional economic and financial integration.”

The participating banks from Singapore are DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB); while the participants from Malaysia are Ambank Malaysia Berhad, Boost, CIMB Bank Berhad, Hong Leong Bank Berhad, Malayan Banking Berhad, Public Bank Berhad, Razer Merchant Services Sdn. Bhd., TNG Digital Sdn. Bhd. and United Overseas Bank Malaysia Berhad.

According to Jacquelyn Tan, head of group personal financial services at UOB, spending on Singapore-issued UOB credit and debit cards in Malaysia last year surged past 2019 levels by almost 15% and 40% respectively.

“DuitNow QR will open a new frontier in the cross-border spending landscape in Malaysia, as it targets lower-value transactions that were previously made in cash,” says Tan.

The average amount spent per transaction in Malaysia for Singapore-issued UOB credit and debit cards stood at $120 and $75 respectively, with both cardholders using their cards there around four times every month, according to Tan.

UOB expects cross-border DuitNow QR spending to quadruple from this year’s level in the next five years. “This forecast is further supported by the intra-Malaysia growth of DuitNow QR last year, with transactions processed by UOB Malaysia growing by more than eight times from 2021.”

OCBC Bank's head of digital payments and ecosystems Gary Wong says DuitNow QR will offer the bank's Singapore customers more options and added convenience when transacting in Malaysia. “With our customers' overall spend in Malaysia on the rise — last year, the number of transactions and amount spent increased by more than 75% each — this latest act of digitalisation will reduce the need for cash as well as facilitate payments to merchants across the border safely and easily.”

With travel is back in full swing, Wong expects DuitNow QR to strengthen OCBC's overall travel proposition. “Customers can now make retail and F&B purchases more easily, on top of booking their travel plans with us via Travel with OCBC.”

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