MERCHANTRADE Money has emerged the first home-grown non-bank e-money issuer to enable dual native NFC (near field communication) phone-tap payments.
This follows the official unveiling by Petaling Jaya-headquartered Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd the activation of Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet support for its Merchantrade Money Visa Prepaid cardholders nationwide.
Signalling a major upgrade for its growing travel and local spend segments, the licensed money services provider and e-money issuer has digitised its multi-currency Visa prepaid cards directly into smartphone wallets to deliver a seamless, card-not-present experience accepted at over 100 million Visa touchpoints globally.
Integrating native NFC phone taps provides travellers the ultimate combination of speed, safety and convenience by keeping physical cards safely tucked away in crowded tourist areas while navigating overseas.
Transactions clear in under a second at transit gates such as London Underground and Singapore’s MRT as well as quick convenience store lines.
Every tap draws directly from the user’s pre-converted multi-currency wallet, guaranteeing zero foreign transaction fee mark-ups.
Enterprise-grade security
“This launch is about listening to what our users have said and removing operational friction at the check-out,” enthused Merchantrade Money Merchantrade Money’s executive vice-president Cindy Loo.
“Our customers are already comfortable using their smartphones as their primary payment tool. Enabling native NFC payments in Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet was a natural evolution to ensure a uniform, cardless experience at physical card terminals.”
Added Loo: “It removes the hassle of searching for your card in your bag or fumbling with your phone. Whether our cardholders are tapping at a local store in Klang or navigating payments overseas, we believe this update gives them the ultimate speed and convenience upgrade.”
Built for enterprise-grade security and maximum speed, native NFC capabilities on Merchantrade Money are powered by the Visa Token Service (VTS). This replaces sensitive card details with secure tokens, thus ensuring that it is never exposed during payments.
Furthermore, Samsung Wallet provides Knox-level hardware protection for physical taps and wearables while Google Wallet offers universal checkout flexibility across mobile apps and web platforms.
Merchantrade Money users can now link their cards in minutes using the In-App Provisioning feature directly inside the Merchantrade Money app or bind their card directly through Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet interfaces. – July 31, 2026
