
Many Malaysians are planning to travel again to make up for lost opportunities during the pandemic. To ease the process of making payments abroad and encourage tourism, Malaysia has partnered with the central banks of several countries to link their payment services, enabling cross-border payments.
Currently, Malaysia’s DuitNow is linked with NETS in Singapore, QRIS in Indonesia, PromptPay in Thailand, and Alipay in China.
When travelling to these countries, Malaysians can make payments overseas through mobile banking or e-wallet apps by scanning the respective payment service operator’s QR code at participating stores. This way, you do not have to worry about carrying large amounts of cash or not bringing enough cash with you on holiday.
How To Make Cross Border Payments?
To make cross-border payments, simply look for the NETS, QRIS, PromptPay, or Alipay QR code at the checkout counter and log in to your mobile banking or e-wallet app to scan it. There’s no need to register separately.
The mobile banking and digital wallet apps that support cross-border payments include Maybank, Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank, CIMB Bank, Bank of China, Touch ‘n Go, BigPay, and Finexus. Once you have scanned the QR code, enter the purchase amount, which will be automatically converted to MYR. The exchange rate will also be displayed. After verifying the payment details, click confirm, and a receipt will appear.
You won’t be charged for making cross-border payments. There is a daily transaction limit of RM50,000, with each transaction limited to RM3,000.
NETS (Singapore)
In March 2023, the DuitNow-NETS payment linkage was launched to enable cross-border payments between Malaysia and Singapore. This linkage allows users to make payments at physical stores in Singapore using the QR code displayed by merchants and for transactions on e-commerce websites.
With tourist arrivals between Malaysia and Singapore averaging 12 million a year, cross-border transactions provide an easy way to make and receive payments for many.
Participants from Malaysia | Participants from Singapore |
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QRIS (Indonesia)
The DuitNow and QRIS cross border QR payment linkage was rolled out in January 2022. Travellers from Malaysia and Indonesia can make payments by scanning the DuitNow or QRIS QR code for both offline and online transactions.
Among the participants for cross border payments between the countries include CIMB Bank and Public Bank from Malaysia and Bank Mandiri and Bank Mega in Indonesia.
Participants from Malaysia | Participants from Indonesia |
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PromptPay (Thailand)
In June 2021, the central banks in Malaysia and Thailand announced the linkage of their respective payment systems, DuitNow and PromptPay.
The real-time payment system linkage supports both online and offline payments.
Participants from Malaysia | Participants from Thailand |
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Alipay (China)
In November 2023, PayNet collaborated with Ant Group to enable travellers from seven countries to make cross border QR payments via DuitNow in Malaysia.
In turn, Malaysians can also make cross border QR payments at Alipay+ merchants globally.
Some of the participants include the following:
Participants from Malaysia | Participants from other countries |
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Read Also: Guide To Multi-Currency Accounts And Wallets In Malaysia
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