KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — AirAsia’s BigPay will soon launch its DuitNow QR payment support very soon within the second quarter of 2021.
This would allow users to perform contactless transactions across PayNet’s DuitNow QR network of merchants. BigPay will also support DuitNow which offers instant fund transfers to local bank accounts.
DuitNow QR is Malaysia’s National QR code standard which allows merchants to accept payments via online banking and eWallet providers with a single QR-code.
This eliminates the need of displaying multiple QR codes at the counter and merchants will only need to open just one acquirer account to accept payments from all supported platforms.
At the moment, DuitNow QR has a total of 26 participants which consist mostly of established banks.
PayNet aims to add 15 more banks and eWallet providers over the next six months.
At the time of writing, ShopeePay is the only supported eWallet platform and the other providers such as Boost, GrabPay and Touch ‘n Go eWallet are still not yet available.
BigPay co-founder Salim Dhanani said “BigPay is committed to bringing transparent, secure and convenient banking services to over 1.3 million users across Malaysia and Singapore, with expansion planned across Asean countries.
“We are thrilled to confirm that the DuitNow QR payment is on track as part of our pipeline of new products and innovations that will be rolled out in the near future, enabling users to pay at a wide range of merchants across Malaysia.
“BigPay, with the aspiration to be the region’s challenger bank, has a range of new features planned for 2021, including cash top-up at local convenience stores, insurance, digital loans, and wealth management.”
Meanwhile, AirAsia Digital President Aireen Omar said “We are thrilled that BigPay will be launching the DuitNow QR product with PayNet.
“The national payment system is not only enabling BigPay users to go cashless in more ways, but is driving merchants to go cashless — such as those on airasia Food, Shop and Fresh — a pillar of Malaysia’s digital economy.
“We will see BigPay providing more and more financial services to our base of consumers and businesses within airasia Digital and are excited for the launch of the DuitNow QR.”
At the moment, BigPay users can pay with their prepaid Mastercard which is supported at most payment card terminals worldwide. The support for DuitNow QR will increase BigPay’s acceptance especially when transacting with small businesses that do not accept card payments.
In addition, DuitNow will also enable BigPay users to seamlessly transfer funds to local bank accounts with just a registered mobile number or IC number.
Apart from payments, BigPay has received Community Credit License which will enable them to offer instant loans for individuals and small businesses at lower rates very soon.
The prepaid card service has also recently introduced a bill payment feature which comes with built-in reminders and the ability to split-bills with your housemates. — SoyaCincau
