Maybank sees mobile transactions exceeding RM40bil

KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank, Malaysia's largest banking group by assets, expects its mobile banking transactions to exceed RM40bil this year compared with RM25bil last year.

Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said this was driven by greater demand for non-cash based transaction convenience among its customers and higher acceptance of the QRPay system introduced in January.

“Maybank has already secured over 160,000 merchants who offer the payment system, and we expect this to increase to at least 200,000 by year-end,” he told reporters after unveiling Maybank's partnership with fast food chain operator, QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, here.

The partnership will allow for payments using Maybank QRPay at KFC restaurants.

QRPay is a payment system that only requires customers to scan the quick response (QR) code displayed by the merchant with their phones to pay for their goods.

Currently, more than four million of Maybank's 11 million Internet banking users make use of mobile banking.

Meanwhile, QSR Brands Managing Director Datuk Seri Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil said the company aimed to introduce QRPay to all KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants by the first quarter of 2019.

“Bank Negara Malaysia has predicted that our country will transform into a cashless society by 2020.

“Therefore, we feel that the integration of a mobile payment option like QRPay at our restaurants is a natural progression to ensure that QSR Brands is one with the movement (towards a cashless society) and remain at the forefront of commerce in Malaysia,” he added. Under the partnership, the Maybank platform would also provide the capability for QR payments via Alipay and WeChat for the convenience of visitors from China. — Bernama