KUALA LUMPUR – May 12, 2020 - Accelerating the migration to electronic payments is a key part of Malaysia’s Financial Sector Blueprint, which charts the direction of the financial system over the next ten years, and consumers are right behind this according to the latest findings from Visa’s Consumer Payments Study[1]. More than seven in ten Malaysians are supportive for the country to become a cashless society and 62 percent believe it can be achieved within the next five years.
The top three benefits consumers believe a cashless society offers include tracking financial records easily, removing the hassle of having to queue at banks, and enabling the country to become more efficient.
The study showed that 69 per cent of Malaysian respondents are planning to use cashless payment methods more often, and move away from cash. This trend is more apparent amongst the affluent segment, where 77 per cent indicated interest to do so. The top reasons for the potential increase in digital payments usage are due to convenience and wider acceptance of digital payments in the country.
“It is heartening to see the increase in digital payments usage by Malaysians in the country, especially contactless payments. This is aligned with our data, where close to half of all Visa face-to-face payments are contactless payments.[2] In addition, Malaysia is one of the fastest growing countries in Asia Pacific in terms of contactless penetration and we are confident this growth will continue as we expand into new merchant category segments,” said Mr. Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia.
On top of that, nearly two in five respondents stated that they are carrying less cash compared to two years ago. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents cited this was due to more merchants adopting cashless payments, and 65 per cent indicated it was due to safety concerns when carrying cash.
Contactless card payments are also gaining momentum in the country. Based on the study, 65 per cent of Malaysian respondents have used contactless payments, and 85 per cent of them make contactless payments at least once a week. Eighty-two per cent of respondents have also been using contactless payments more frequently compared to two years ago. Malaysians believe that contactless payments enables them to not carry cash around and is a faster payment mode compared to other solutions.
“Despite the growth in digital payments usage by Malaysians, there are still tremendous opportunities in Malaysia for cash displacement. We are seeing a proliferation of various payment solutions being introduced to Malaysia, which may accelerate the use of digital payments. However, it may also cause the payment industry to be more fragmented so it is crucial for us to work closely with the banks, merchants and FinTech community to ensure the solutions we’re creating are interoperable so it can drive greater adoption amongst Malaysians,” added Mr. Ng Kong Boon.
