Project XBY

Asia-Pacific · GDP rank #35

Malaysia

MY · MYR @ 0.2532/USD

Malaysia ran the highest-velocity DuitNow rollout in ASEAN. PayNet cleared 8.44bn digital transactions in 2025 (+34% YoY), DuitNow QR alone doubled to 3bn, and the country operates the densest ASEAN cross-border QR mesh (live with SG, TH, ID, CN, KH; IN expected 2026). Malaysia is one of the five founding-country IPSs inside the BIS Project Nexus Scheme Organisation. BNM's five licensed digital banks are now in operational years two and three; the Securities Commission frames stablecoin and tokenised-deposit policy.

Tab 08

Pulse

The preceding ~90 days of macro, regulation, product, funding and milestone events. Each item is primary-sourced; no trade-press echo.

  1. 3 weeks agoregulation

    BNM holds OPR at 3.00% — fifth consecutive hold

    Bank Negara held the Overnight Policy Rate at 3.00% on 8 May, the fifth consecutive hold, citing benign domestic inflation and a moderating external outlook. The Monetary Policy Committee flagged Middle East energy risk as the main upside sensitivity.

    • #bnm
    • #macro
    • #rates

    Source: Bank Negara Malaysia

  2. 5 weeks agodata

    PayNet 2025 report — 8.44 billion digital transactions (+34%)

    PayNet's full-year 2025 press release confirmed 8.44 billion processed digital transactions, with bank volumes +30.7% and non-bank volumes +71.7%. DuitNow QR alone doubled to 3 billion transactions; 681,250 new acceptance points added, of which 267,780 were MSMEs.

    • #paynet
    • #duitnow
    • #data

    Source: PayNet

  3. 7 weeks agomilestone

    Project Nexus Scheme Organisation formally constituted

    BIS confirmed in April that Bank Negara, MAS, BOT, BSP, RBI and the five domestic IPS operators had signed the foundational documents for the Nexus Scheme Organisation. Pilot retail flows scheduled for H2 2026; Malaysia's DuitNow is the first system to be integrated in the test environment.

    • #bnm
    • #nexus
    • #cross-border

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

  4. 2 months agolaunch

    DuitNow QR–Cambodia (Bakong) bilateral corridor opens

    PayNet and the National Bank of Cambodia opened a DuitNow QR-to-Bakong QR bilateral corridor on 18 March. Malaysian tourists and business travellers can pay Cambodian merchants by scanning Bakong QRs in their DuitNow-supported apps; settlement is direct without USD intermediation.

    • #paynet
    • #cross-border
    • #cambodia

    Source: PayNet

  5. 3 months agoregulation

    BNM publishes 2026 Financial Inclusion Scorecard for digital banks

    Bank Negara published its 2026 Financial Inclusion Scorecard for the five licensed digital banks. All five met underbanked-segment deposit acquisition targets; loan-disbursement KPIs vary. BNM signalled willingness to issue additional licences if the cohort continues to deliver on inclusion KPIs.

    • #bnm
    • #digital-banks
    • #regulation

    Source: Bank Negara Malaysia

  6. 3 months agomilestone

    DuitNow QR acceptance crosses 3 million touchpoints

    PayNet confirmed nationwide DuitNow QR registration crossed 3 million acceptance points in February, with MSMEs accounting for the majority of net additions in 2025. BNM has signalled an ambition to push the figure to ~4m by end-2027.

    • #duitnow
    • #qr
    • #msme

    Source: PayNet