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DuitNow QR transaction volumes more than doubled in 2025 to three billion transactions, as QR payments became a preferred option for consumers and merchants in Malaysia.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Dato’ Sri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the growth of QR payments reflects a wider shift towards faster and more seamless digital payments, with e-money usage in Malaysia outpacing the growth trajectory of payment cards in 2025 by 10%.
QR payments have gained traction due to their convenience, cost effectiveness and ease of use, while Malaysians now make more than one digital payment a day on average, compared with about once a week a decade ago.
Cross-border payment links expand across ASEAN
The next focus for the financial industry is payment connectivity beyond the domestic market, particularly for ASEAN’s more than 70 million micro, small and medium enterprises.
As of end-2025, there were 29 payment linkages across ASEAN, with entities such as PayNet and Alipay+ playing a role in these developments.
Initiatives such as Project Nexus and bilateral payment linkages could help widen access, improve interoperability and reduce payment frictions for smaller businesses trading across borders.
At the same time, faster payments must be supported by strong safeguards, with continued investment in system availability, business continuity and operational resilience.
Malaysia also introduced RENTAS+ in October 2025 to enable 24/7 interbank settlement, with BNM previously describing RENTAS as the first RTGS system in ASEAN to offer round-the-clock settlement.
Fraud risks can also spread quickly in real-time payment environments, making proactive prevention more important.
Malaysia’s National Fraud Portal, a collaboration between BNM, PayNet and the payments industry, is being enhanced with predictive analytics to help detect and disrupt threats earlier.
BNM updates work on digital money
Payment innovation must be supported by safeguards that allow new solutions to be tested responsibly before wider use.
BNM’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub has onboarded participants to test real-world applications of digital money, including ringgit-denominated stablecoins and tokenised deposits.
The central bank will use these pilots to guide its direction on stablecoins, tokenised deposits and the role of central bank digital currency.
Open finance and AI were also identified as key areas for Malaysia’s financial sector, with both requiring clear governance, accountability and oversight as adoption grows.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia, based on image by viktoryvisuals via Magnific