MORE merchants are now accepting digital payments, fuelling the cashless wave momentum in the country, according to Visa’s recent Consumer Payment Attitudes (CPA) study.
The top categories where consumers indicate that digital payments acceptance has grown include food and dining (84%), retail shopping (79%) and supermarkets (76%).
Findings from the study also indicated that card payments in Malaysia have close to universal usage at 91%, with the most preferred payment method in Malaysia being contactless payments (20%), followed by QR payments (12%) and online payment using credit/debit cards (10%).
According to Visa country manager for Malaysia Ng Kong Boon, the increase in digital payments acceptance is a reflection of how well the country has evolved in terms of the payment landscape.
“More merchants and consumers see the benefits of digital payments as a convenient and secure way to pay. In fact, contactless payments have really outperformed in the country compared to a few years ago,” he stated.
“Today, more than nine in 10 Visa transactions are contactless payments, compared to 2019 where it was slightly over 50%.”
The CPA study also found that seven in 10 Malaysian consumers have attempted to adopt a cashless lifestyle. This shift was driven by consumers from the Gen Z and Gen Y segments, where nearly four in five respondents have successfully gone cashless.
Consumers’ cash-carrying habits have also changed, with close to 50% of respondents carrying less physical cash in their wallets.
They cited the following reasons for carrying less cash: using more contactless payment methods (61%), more places are adopting cashless payments (54%), and feeling that carrying cash is unsafe as it can get lost or be stolen (42%).
Malaysian preferences for contactless card payments also continue to grow, driven by a universal awareness of contactless card payments.
In fact, the study found that more than 90% of consumers are aware of contactless card payments, while over 60% of them are already actively using it as a payment method.
Consumers are displaying positive sentiments on Malaysia’s shift into a cashless society than before with more than 40% of Malaysian consumers sharing that they believe Malaysia will transition into a cashless society by the year 2030, if not sooner. – June 19, 2024
