Ghaffour: Digital payments need trust, inclusion, innovation
Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, highlighted three defining questions for the future of digital payments. He stressed the importance of meaningful adoption, sustained trust, and responsible innovation at the MO·MENTS 2026 conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Beyond adoption: Real economic value
Governor Ghaffour emphasized that digital payment success is measured by tangible outcomes, not just adoption.
In Malaysia, daily digital payments per person have surged from once a week a decade ago.
On Pulau Redang, over 90% of small businesses now accept digital payments, with nearly half seeing over 50% sales revenue increase, demonstrating digital access benefits.
Scaling this requires sustained, affordable access for smaller merchants.
Malaysia uses low or zero merchant discount rates for DuitNow QR, now with over three million touchpoints, proving effective interventions.
Cross-border payment connectivity is a strategic priority in ASEAN, crucial for 70 million MSMEs.
By end 2025, Malaysia and partners established 29 payment linkages across ASEAN, accelerating regional trade.
Industry commitment is vital to expand reach and impact, ensuring efficient and accessible cross-border networks for MSMEs.
Speed's double edge: Fraud and resilience
Instant payment adoption is accelerating, with e-money usage in Malaysia outpacing payment cards by 10% in 2025.
DuitNow QR transaction volumes more than doubled to three billion in 2025, up from 1.5 billion in 2024.
This speed demands consistent reliability and security, requiring continuous investment in high system availability and robust business continuity, per BNM's expectations.
Efficient back-end settlement is crucial; Malaysia introduced near real-time settlement for retail payments via RENTAS+ last October, providing 24/7 settlement and reducing credit risk.
Fraud risks amplify with instant transactions, necessitating proactive and embedded prevention.
Malaysia benefits from the National Fraud Portal (NFP), enhanced with predictive analytics.
Consumer education remains vital as the first line of defense, requiring concerted effort.
Innovation's essential guardrails
Innovation in digital payments is vital but must be responsibly scaled within appropriate safeguards.
Malaysia's regulatory sandbox and Digital Asset Innovation Hub, testing stablecoins and tokenised deposits, exemplify this structured approach to understanding emerging forms of money.
Maintaining trust and financial stability ultimately hinges on rigorous governance for AI and open finance, ensuring innovation remains a source of strength.