Malaysia’s e-payment ecosystem posted its strongest annual performance on record in 2025, with Bank Negara Malaysia’s Annual Report confirming 18.4 billion transactions and a doubling of DuitNow QR volume. The data signals that digital payments have moved from adoption to entrenchment across the country’s consumer and business landscape.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Total e-payment transactions in 2025: 18.4 billion, up 25% from 14.7 billion in 2024
- Average transactions per Malaysian: 538 in 2025, up from 432 in 2024
- Compound annual growth rate of e-payments: 17% from 2022 to 2025, exceeding the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026 target of at least 15%
- Retail e-payment transaction value: RM831 billion, up 19% year-on-year from RM698.2 billion in 2024
- DuitNow QR transaction volume: doubled to 3 billion in 2025, from 1.5 billion in 2024; registered touchpoints reached nearly 3 million, up from 2.6 million
- E-remittances by licensed providers: surged 70.1% to RM31.6 billion, representing 51.8% of outward remittances
- Malaysia’s five licensed digital banks collectively served 2.4 million customers with RM4.2 billion in total deposits by end-2025; 65% of customers are from unserved or underserved segments
Bank Negara Malaysia released its Annual Report 2025 on March 31, 2026, presenting data that places the country’s digital payments trajectory well ahead of its own regulatory targets. Total e-payment transactions reached 18.4 billion for the full year, a 25% increase over 14.7 billion recorded in 2024. On a per-capita basis, the average Malaysian completed 538 e-payment transactions during the year, compared to 432 the year prior.
The compound annual growth rate of e-payments from 2022 to 2025 stood at 17%, consistently exceeding the 15% CAGR target set under the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026. BNM attributed the 2025 expansion to steady consumption activity and the broadening adoption of retail digital payment channels across both urban and semi-urban merchant bases.
DuitNow QR emerged as the standout performer within the payments mix. Transaction volume on the QR payment rail doubled to 3 billion in 2025 from 1.5 billion the prior year, with registered merchant touchpoints growing to nearly 3 million locations across Malaysia, up from 2.6 million in 2024. BNM noted that a significant portion of new touchpoints belong to micro, small, and medium enterprises that had previously operated on a cash-only basis. In value terms, retail e-payment transactions reached RM831 billion, reflecting 19% year-on-year growth from RM698.2 billion in 2024.
The average e-money transaction size also grew, rising to RM43 in 2025 from RM33 in 2024. BNM linked this increase to growing user confidence in digital wallets for higher-value spending categories, extending beyond transport and food and beverage purchases into larger discretionary and necessity spending.
Cross-Border Remittances And Digital FX Accelerate
Outward digital remittances posted especially strong results. E-remittance services by licensed remittance service providers surged 70.1% to RM31.6 billion in 2025, representing 51.8% of total outward remittances from Malaysia. Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Myanmar were identified as the top recipient corridors, reflecting Malaysia’s role as a major remittance-sending country for migrant worker populations. Digital currency exchange transactions by non-bank currency exchangers rose 29.1% to RM7.6 billion, driven by wider availability of digital solutions including e-payment acceptance and multi-currency prepaid cards.
BNM also disclosed that Malaysia completed its full adoption of the ISO 20022 messaging standard for cross-border payments, becoming the first country to finish the transition ahead of the global deadline set by SWIFT. The move aligns Malaysian payment rails with emerging international standards and positions the country to handle more complex, data-rich cross-border payment flows as Project Nexus, which links payment systems across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, and the Philippines, continues development.
Digital Banks Show Progress On Financial Inclusion Mandate
A separate section of BNM’s Annual Report covered the performance of Malaysia’s five licensed digital banks, disclosing that they collectively served 2.4 million customers by end-2025, with total deposits of RM4.2 billion. Approximately 65% of customers fall within unserved and underserved segments, including low-income households, gig workers, and youth. Of the RM1 billion in financing approved to date, 34% was extended to these same underserved groups.
BNM introduced the Digital Bank Inclusion Monitoring and Evaluation (DIME) Framework to formalise accountability requirements for digital banks around their financial inclusion commitments. The central bank described current performance as modest but indicative of meaningful early-stage progress.
On digital assets, BNM said it has created the Digital Asset Innovation Hub (DAIH) as a controlled environment for testing tokenised money use cases. Several major financial institutions had been onboarded to DAIH as of Q1 2026. BNM indicated it will advance work on asset tokenisation, central bank digital currency, tokenised deposits, and ringgit stablecoins in 2026, with the intention of establishing a clear regulatory framework to support responsible digital finance innovation.