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PETALING JAYA: Contactless payment continues to gain acceptance among Malaysian retailers, according to a study by Visa.

A survey by the card payment enabler shows that in 2022, a total of 74% of Malaysian consumers opted to go cashless when making payments for their retail purchases.

According to Aaron Loo, managing director for retail banking at AmBank Group, 56% of Malaysian shoppers were using contactless cards while another 40% have opted for mobile contactless cards.

For the layman, a mobile contactless card is an app on the smartphone that serves as a credit or debit card.

In a statement to the media today, Loo pointed out that opting for cashless payment would not only enhance the shopping experience for consumers but also benefit merchants by offering them greater flexibility, added convenience and enhanced security.

AmBank is banking on the increasing preference for cashless payment to ramp up its digital offerings, he added when announcing a joint effort between the banking group and Bandar Utama City Centre Sdn Bhd (BUCC) to drive cashless payment at retail outlets in the Bandar Utama township here.

The cashless city initiative will see the wider use of cashless and contactless payments at shopping malls such as 1 Utama Shopping Centre and Centrepoint as well as at Avante Hotel and The Club @ Bukit Utama.

The effort, which is part of a masterplan by BUCC to help drive the nation’s digital economy, will be powered by AmBank’s suite of digital solutions, the banking group said.

The cashless and contactless payments will be enabled via the APOS A8 unified payment terminals at retail outlets in the shopping malls, hotel and club.

The payment terminals will accept both credit and debit cards, and shoppers will also get to digitally redeem and earn loyalty points through the Bandar Utama loyalty card OneCard Privileges+ at participating outlets.

AmBank Group CEO Sulaiman Tahir said the partnership was timely given the expected increase in footfalls at shopping malls, particularly during the festive seasons.

He noted that Malaysia’s retail sales sector has been expanding as the economy continues its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic economic fallout.

Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2023/01/16/more-malaysians-now-opting-for-cashless-payment-survey-shows/