Back in May, Maybank announced that its MAE app has started supporting cross-border DuitNow QR transactions with Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The bank has more recently announced that China is being added to the list, claiming that it is “one of the first in the market for a Malaysian bank” to do so.
For users of the MAE app, this means that you can use it to make cashless payment with Alipay merchants. The process is mostly the same as it is for the other three countries; you scan the merchant’s QR code using the app, and key in the amount in RMB. The amount, converted to Ringgit, will then be charged. The same limitations from before still apply, which means your daily transaction limit is RM1,000, and you’ll have to authorise transactions over RM250 via Secure2u.
It’s much the same story for local merchants, as they can now take QR payments from Chinese tourists through Alipay. Also worth noting is that, in an update to its cross-border DuitNow QR page, Maybank also lists China Construction Bank in addition to Alipay as a partner. This also sounds pretty similar to what PayNet announced today regarding DuitNow and Alipay+.
Maybank says that this is a result of its “ongoing collaboration with Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) aiding Malaysians travelling to China, and in-bound Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia”. Which makes the discrepancy between the two announcements a bit puzzling.
