KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) launched a pilot version of cashless mobile payment option using QR codes, called 'Maybank QRPay', making it the first bank to introduce such a service in the country.
Maybank said the Maybank QRPay aims to promote greater use of cashless transactions in the country as it can be easily installed or used by any individual or business wanting to adopt cashless payment modes.
Maybank head of group community financial services Datuk Lim Hong Tat said the new service, launched today, is expected to revolutionise the way payments are conducted between customers and merchants, especially for small ticket items.
"Our new service is versatile, allowing any merchant to accept QRPay transactions from Maybank customers regardless whether its account is with Maybank or not.
"We will be offering a convenient and extremely quick process for merchants to sign up via a mobile platform following which they can enjoy receiving payments from customers who will transact via the Maybank2u app,” he said.
Lim said the pilot phase will see all 33 stalls at the food court in Laman Menara Maybank adopting the Maybank QRPay option for customers.
The service will then be launched to the public in January 2018.
"Over the past five years, cash usage has continued to grow with the ratio of cash-in-circulation as a share of GDP (gross domestic product) increasing from 5.9 per cent in 2012 to 6.9 per cent in 2016.
"The value of ATM cash withdrawals had also grown at an average of 6.9 per cent per annum during the same period while about 85 per ent of payments currently in Malaysia are cash-based transactions.
"The main objective of our new QR Pay service is to replace that act of making traditional cash payments into something more secure as well as immediate, allowing our customers the freedom to pay simply by just scanning their mobile devices to a code,” he said.
Maybank was confident that its QRPay service has the potential to complement the debit or credit card as a cost-effective alternative to cash due to the lower infrastructure cost and the increasing use of mobile phones in Malaysia.
Merchants now can have instant access to their funds which can then be used to pay their suppliers.
"Any merchant can apply to use the service by registering for Maybank QRPay via the Maybank QRPay merchant App, where they can indicate their own bank account number for payments to be channeled to.
"Money is credited in real-time to the merchant account, making the whole process seamless and merchant friendly," said Lim.