Malaysia’s national payments network Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) has teamed up with top Asian payment platforms, Alipay+, and Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay), to drive Chinese and regional tourist spending across Malaysia.

PayNet said in a statement on Tuesday that as the summer travel season begins, both Alipay+ and Weixin Pay are rolling out targeted campaigns to promote Malaysia as a top destination.

The campaigns will boost cross-border spending via PayNet’s DuitNow QR ecosystem and make travel in Malaysia more seamless and rewarding for visitors.

Tourists using AlipayCN, Alipay+ partner payment apps, and Weixin Pay can pay with ease in Malaysia by scanning DuitNow QR – no extra apps needed.

It’s the same e-wallet they use at home, accepted at more than 2.5 million merchants in Malaysia.

From restaurants and hotels to souvenir kiosks and tour operators, this enhanced interoperability makes travel hassle-free. It also increases visibility for merchants, helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tap into tourist spending.

Alipay+ currently enables 15 international payment apps in Malaysia, including Alipay for Chinese tourists.

During the December 2024 travel peak, Alipay+, via DuitNow QR, drove a six-fold revenue increase for Malaysian merchants’ year-on-year.

“This is what smart tourism looks like, seamless for travellers, transformative for our MSMEs,

“By enabling tourists to use their home wallets via DuitNow QR, we are opening up more than 2.5 million Malaysian businesses, many of them small and family-run, to global spending power. It’s a digital solution with real-world economic impact,” said PayNet Chief Marketing Officer, Gary Yeoh.

This multi-partner initiative also aims to increase sales by 20 percent for participating merchants during the summer campaign period.

In the long run, the campaign underpins Malaysia’s goal of becoming a cashless tourism leader, while helping more businesses tap into digital payments.

Tourism Malaysia Director General Manoharan Periasamy highlighted that the summer campaigns play a vital role in reaching the target of six million Chinese tourist arrivals this year.

He believes that making travel simple, welcoming, and convenient is the key to attracting more visitors.

“With DuitNow QR accepted via Alipay+ and Weixin Pay, tourists can enjoy a smoother, more enjoyable travel experience,

“This initiative not only adds comfort and familiarity for our guests but also creates meaningful opportunities for local businesses and boosts the overall tourism economy,” he added.

As tourist arrivals to Malaysia continue to grow, the partnership between PayNet, Alipay+, and Weixin Pay showcases the power of digital payments to fuel economic growth, said the statement.

In line with this momentum, the target for 2025 is to increase DuitNow QR transactions through Alipay+ and Weixin Pay by more than 130 percent year-on-year, it noted.

By empowering local businesses and simplifying how tourists pay via trusted mobile payment methods, this summer campaign also marks a meaningful step forward in strengthening Malaysia’s tourism economy and boosting regional economic integration, said the statement.

PayNet is Malaysia’s national payments network with a mission to accelerate the country’s payment flows by making the digital payment infrastructure more accessible, widespread, and secure.

The firm’s comprehensive retail payments suite — including DuitNow (QR and Transfer), JomPAY (Bill Payments), FPX (Online), MyDebit (Domestic Debit), MEPS, and IBG (Interbank GIRO) – provides extensive coverage across the nation, forming a core part of daily life in Malaysia.

Additionally, PayNet’s real-time retail QR payments network, DuitNow, is interoperable with domestic schemes in Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, facilitating seamless cross-border transactions with these countries.

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