Maybank makes a Grab for cashless payments in Malaysia
Maybank and Singapore-based ride-hailing service Grab have teamed up to drive the usage of Grab’s new cashless payment method in Malaysia.
“The whole industry needs to come together to make the cashless economy a reality in Malaysia”
Grab, which received its e-money licence from Bank Negara Malaysia (the central bank) in December 2017, is set to launch its GrabPay mobile wallet in beta in the coming weeks.
Ooi Huey Tyng, MD, GrabPay Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines, says: “The whole industry needs to come together to make the cashless economy a reality in Malaysia.”
With the support of Maybank, Grab consumers will be able to use the mobile wallet at GrabPay merchants, and “eventually” use the wallet at Maybank’s merchants.
Similarly, Maybank says its customers will also eventually have the option of paying via Maybank QRPay at GrabPay merchants.
In addition, consumers will soon be able to top up cash to their mobile wallet via Maybank2U, Maybank’s internet banking portal.
Through the same Grab app, consumers are not limited to transport services. Other options include ordering and paying for food and drinks or making money transfers to friends.
According to Bank Negara, cash handling and services cost MYR 1.8 billion ($453.6 million) a year to the banking industry and electronic-based payments may result in savings amounting to up to 1% of a country’s economy due to lower retail payment cost versus cash transactions.
In addition, Maybank notes that the Malaysian Financial Sector Blueprint 2011-2020 aims to increase the number of electronic payments per capita to 200 by 2020.
This partnership is subject to relevant regulatory approvals and Maybank adds that further details will be announced in due course.
Earlier this month, Maybank launched its “FutureReady” digital upskilling programme and set aside MYR 30 million ($7.6 million) to fund it.
