The name WeChat is no stranger to Malaysians. Over 20 million Malaysians are WeChat users—that’s two-thirds of the nation’s population. That said, it’s no surprise that Tencent, owner of WeChat, chose to roll out WeChat Pay in Malaysia in August 2018, the first country in the world outside of its home, China.
Header photo: (From left) Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent, YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance of Malaysia, YB Tuan Chong Chieng Jen, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, and Jason Siew, CEO, WeChat Pay MY, launching the first ever WeChat Pay MY Conference “Advancing the Future of Malaysia’s Digital Landscape with WeChat Pay MY”
WeChat Pay MY is the mobile payment feature within the WeChat app, one of the largest social platforms in the world. As of December 2018, Weixin and WeChat had 1.098 billion monthly active user accounts (MAUs), while WeChat Pay had more than 800 million MAUs (Q2 2018).
However, with a big push by the Government and the central bank to digitalise payment systems and boost the digital economy as a whole, Malaysia is poised for growth. This is encouraged by the high mobile penetration rate and good connectivity in country.
“Malaysia is one of the standout emerging markets that has quickly adopted to mobile payments. Our mission is to facilitate the development of the Malaysian digital economy by introducing local users and businesses with a simple, secure and convenient mobile payment experience. We believe that with enhanced public awareness, engagements and exposure, we will be able to play a role in leading Malaysian’s digital ecosystem into the next level,” said Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business Group at Tencent.
WeChat Pay MY allows users to make payment and transfer money in Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) within the WeChat app. This covers a host of daily online and offline payment needs – from peer-to-peer transfers, to paying merchants like telcos, airlines, bus ticket providers, restaurants, retail stores, and more. Since its introduction to the local market last year, the platform has continuously grown in terms of the number of merchants and users.
“We are currently working on expanding our merchant base to include more outlets similar to KK Mart and Starbucks. This will sequentially give users more opportunities to use WeChat Pay MY for easier and more seamless payment transactions,” said Jason Siew, CEO of WeChat Pay MY.
To demonstrate WeChat Pay MY’s commitment to leading the way forward in digital payment arena, the platform hosted its first showcase to demonstrate future use cases and applications of mobile payments in the near future, also attended by Malaysia’s Finance Minister, YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng.
At the event’s experience zone, WeChat Pay MY showcased simulations of various innovative payment service experiences—at a convenience store, food and beverage outlet, a petrol station, and even a gerai–regular roadside vendor stall selling kuih-muih (local delicacies).
WeChat Pay MY unveiled a fully-digitised vending machine which accepts WeChat Pay MY as a payment. Definitely beats rummaging through pockets for notes or spare change.
Another ground-breaking, upcoming service is an online ordering system for mamak restaurants that allows users to place a food and beverage order through WeChat Pay MY and make payment instantly.
The most intriguing presentation, undoubtedly, was #SmartFuel–WeChat Pay MY’s revolutionary solution for the purchase of petrol. The smart solution enables ausers to select a petrol station within the WeChat Pay MY app, key in the amount of fuel and vehicle registration number, purchase and pump at the petrol station. Using vehicle registration number recognition system powered by artificial intelligence, users then simply park at a kiosk and start fueling.
The Malaysian market has plenty to look forward to from WeChat Pay MY who continues to innovate to drive the digital economy and enrich lives of all Malaysians.
This post is brought to you exclusively by WeChat Pay MY.
