KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — E-payment transactions grew by 25 per cent to 18.4 billion, compared to 14.7 billion in 2024, with each Malaysian making 538 e-payments in 2025 on average, a 25 per cent increase from 432 in 2024. 

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in its Annual Report 2025 that e-payment transactions rose by an annual average rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent between 2022 and 2025, making Malaysia consistently surpass the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026 target of at least 15 per cent CAGR in average e-payment transactions per capita. 

“The growth in 2025 was supported by steady consumption activity, supported by higher retail e-payment transactions by 19 per cent for the year to RM831 billion (2024: RM698.2 billion),” it said in the report released today. 

BNM also reported that the higher average e-money transaction size of RM43 in 2025, compared to RM33 in 2024, reflected growing user confidence, not just for daily spending such as transport, food and beverages, but also for higher‑value payments. 

On online banking, the central bank said the segment recorded steady growth, with mobile banking continuing to outpace internet banking, as high smartphone penetration enables seamless, on-the-go transactions, making it the preferred online banking channel with a 64 per cent market share.

It said card payments also recorded a healthy growth, with debit card transactions’ growth almost doubling the pace of credit card transactions (20.5 per cent versus 10.9 per cent), while the average debit card ticket size was lower by 11.5 per cent to RM69 (2024: RM78). 

“Contactless payments also gained traction, growing by 20.3 per cent to two billion transactions in 2025 (2024: 1.7 billion transactions), driven by ease and speed of use.

“DuitNow QR transaction volume doubled to three billion in 2025 (2024: 1.5 billion) mainly due to its convenience and wide merchant acceptance, with almost three million registered DuitNow QR touchpoints across Malaysia as at end-2025 (2024: 2.6 million),” it said.

On the other hand, BNM stated that e-remittance services by licensed remittance service providers surged by 70.1 per cent, reaching RM31.6 billion in 2025, representing 51.8 per cent of outward remittances, with Bangladesh, Indonesia and Myanmar being the top recipient corridors for remittances. 

It said the currency exchange transactions undertaken by non-bank currency exchangers through digital means rose by 29.1 per cent to RM7.6 billion (2024: RM5.9 billion), due to more offerings of digital solutions, including through e-payment acceptance and multi-currency prepaid cards. 

For this year, BNM said it will continue to pursue efforts to ensure payment and money services are secure and reliable for consumers and businesses, which includes expanding digital payment adoption across all segments of society, while strengthening oversight and fraud prevention to protect users. 

“In line with growing global interest towards a tokenised economy, BNM will continue to advance work on asset tokenisation and digital money, including Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), tokenised deposits and ringgit stablecoins, which will be undertaken with the intention to establish a clear regulatory framework.

“This approach provides industry certainty while safeguarding financial stability and consumer protection, which will position Malaysia as a trusted and forward-looking nation for responsible digital finance innovation, hence, translates into real economic gains and supports Malaysia’s broader economic transformation,” it said. — Bernama