The PayNow and DuitNow systems will be connected this week, allowing Malaysians and Singaporeans to transfer money across borders by entering the payee’s mobile number.
Previously, Malaysians could scan PayNow to make payments in Singapore, while Singaporeans could scan DuitNow to make payments in Malaysia. This will now be extended to allow cross-border transfers by simply entering the recipient’s cell phone number.
This also means that in future, when transferring money to Singapore, you can transfer money by entering only the other party’s cell phone number, instead of having to enter a long account number.
Malaysia’s DuitNow has partnered with countries in Southeast Asia to allow cross-border payments using DuitNow scan codes not only in Singapore, but also in Thailand and Indonesia.
In addition, according to Maybank, people can also use Maybank MAE to pay merchants in China. Chinese tourists in Malaysia can also use Alipay to scan the local DuitNow QR code to pay.
Maybank MAE users in China can open Maybank MAE to scan the merchant’s Alipay QR code, then enter the RMB payment amount and complete the payment process. You will be able to know the exchange rate and the amount of payment in MYR directly at the time of payment.