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.<\/p>\n
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Cross-border payment links expand across ASEAN<\/p>\n The next focus for the financial industry is payment connectivity beyond the domestic market, particularly for ASEAN\u2019s more than 70 million micro, small and medium enterprises.<\/p>\n As of end-2025, there were 29 payment linkages across ASEAN, with entities such as PayNet and Alipay+ playing a role in these developments.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n At the same time, faster payments must be supported by strong safeguards, with continued investment in system availability, business continuity and operational resilience.<\/p>\n Malaysia also introduced RENTAS+<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Fraud risks can also spread quickly in real-time payment environments, making proactive prevention more important.<\/p>\n Malaysia\u2019s National Fraud Portal<\/a>, a collaboration between BNM, PayNet and the payments industry, is being enhanced with predictive analytics to help detect and disrupt threats earlier.<\/p>\n BNM updates work on digital money<\/p>\n Payment innovation must be supported by safeguards that allow new solutions to be tested responsibly before wider use.<\/p>\n BNM\u2019s Digital Asset Innovation Hub has onboarded participants to test real-world applications of digital money<\/a>, including ringgit-denominated stablecoins and tokenised deposits.<\/p>\n The central bank will use these pilots to guide its direction on stablecoins, tokenised deposits and the role of central bank digital currency.<\/p>\n Open finance and AI were also identified as key areas for Malaysia\u2019s financial sector, with both requiring clear governance, accountability and oversight as adoption grows.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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