Following the arrival of WeChat Pay MY in Malaysia, Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) has announced that customers can now bind their debit cards to the WeChat e-wallet and use WeChat Pay MY as an alternative payment option.
HLB is one of the first banks in Malaysia to be approved as Tencent’s local WeChat Pay Master Merchant Acquirer. Merchants and individual users can now transact with WeChat Pay for the first time in Malaysia in Malaysian Ringgit. Malaysia is the first country outside of China and Hong Kong to be able to make payments in the local currency.
The 20-million strong Malaysian WeChat users now join the mobile payment’s 900 million active monthly users worldwide.
WeChat Pay MY will allow users to make payment and transfer money in Malaysian Ringgit within the WeChat App. This covers a host of daily online and offline payment needs including peer-to-peer transfers, payment to telcos, airlines, bus ticket providers, F&B, retail stores, and more.
HLB’s collaboration with Tencent first started in November 2017, to provide WeChat Pay solution for online and offline (O2O) digital payments to retail merchants in Malaysia. The easy-to-adopt, fully integrated cross-border payment solution enables Chinese tourists to pay using their WeChat accounts seamlessly when visiting Malaysia.
The approach is different from rival AliPay, where usage is limited only to Chinese nationals and not available in local currencies. While AliPay is openly available and supported in Malaysia, Malaysians and other nationals are not able to use the payment system.
Currently, HLB customers can already for transactions in MYR at WeChat’s own shops and platforms including third party services like Garena, JOOX and local mobile prepaid services.
Recently, over 80 iPhones were sold at the opening of HLB’s first digital brand in Penang where all transactions were done through HLB Debit Card-enabled WeChat pay.
HLB says that soon, customers will be able to pay for shopping at HLB WeChat Pay-enabled merchants such as Giant, Resorts World Genting, MyNews.com, GSC, and more.
How to activate WeChat Pay
- In WeChat, go to “Me” and select Wallet
- Click on Bank Cards, add a HLB Debit Card and enter the 6-digit PIN for payment
- Enter Debit Card No, Expiry Day, CVV Code and email. Upon successful registration, a SMS will confirm the binding between debit card and the e-wallet.
For more information, visit www.hlb.com.my.
