One of the benefits of cash payment is the instantaneous nature – provided you have the cash with you at the time. This has been the survival strategy of most small retailers in Malaysia. The arrival of digital wallets or ewallets promised to realize this capability of instant payment minus having to keep cash on hand but it hasn’t been easy because the is no universal wallet that most everyone in Malaysia could have access to – unlike Hong Kong’s Octopus card.
Things may be changing with the announcement by the national payments network and central infrastructure provider – PayNet or Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd. PayNet has implemented Malaysia’s Real-Time Retail Payments Platform (RPP) using ACI’s UP Real-Time Payments solution.
The first service offered to the public under the platform is DuitNow, an instant credit transfer with a national addressing database that links mobile numbers and national ID numbers to account numbers.
DuitNow allows bank customers to send money instantly and securely to accounts that are addressed by easily known identifiers, such as mobile phone numbers, identity card or passport numbers, and business registration numbers. The service aims to displace cash with simple and convenient internet and mobile payments, and has the potential to transform Malaysia’s payments ecosystem with immediate 24x7 funds availability.
Among the new payment services rolling out are QR Payments as well as Request-to-Pay (RPP), e-Mandates and Real-Time Debit, which are expected to transform how businesses collect payments in Malaysia. Corporate customers will also benefit from DuitNow’s extended message payload that allows DuitNow payment messages to carry information needed to complete business transactions.
“RPP and DuitNow are the foundation for payments transformation in Malaysia, which is aimed at modernizing the e-Payments ecosystem and driving innovation for the country’s more than 31 million residents,” PayNet's group CEO Peter Schiesser said.
According to Schiesser, plans are afoot to build links across the ASEAN region to enable cross-border instant credits and P2P payments, with an initial focus on our neighboring countries.
He credits ACI’s UP Real-Time Payments for providing a flexible and scalable platform to enable PayNet to make material steps towards greater ASEAN payments integration – streamlining both business and personal financial flows across the region.
ACI Worldwide managing director for Asia, Leslie Choo says DutiNow is a close collaboration between multiple parties including a dozen member banks as well as ACI and PayNet.
First published in Fintech Innovation