Payments and e-commerce in Malaysia

Discover how Malaysians like to shop and pay online

Malaysia

General Information

  • Population 32.8 m
  • Population 15 + 25.2 m
  • Online population 29.2 m
  • Area 329,847 km2
  • Currency MYR
  • GDP 1,823.9 bn $US
  • GDP per capita 55,639 $US
  • Card-based payments
  • Cash-based payments
  • Bank transfer
  • Wallets
  • Other
[{"label":"Card-based payments","value":"31"},{"label":"Cash-based payments","value":"9"},{"label":"Bank transfer","value":"30"},{"label":"Wallets","value":"16"},{"label":"Other","value":"14"}]
Banked population
  • Malaysia 87%
  • Asia Pacific 76%
  • World 67%
Credit card penetration
  • Malaysia 23%
  • Asia Pacific 29%
  • World 19%
Internet penetration
  • Malaysia 89%
  • Asia Pacific 61%
  • World 62%
Smartphone penetration
  • Malaysia 88%
  • Asia Pacific 62%
  • World 70%

Not only are more Malaysians online now – 29.55 m at the beginning of 2022 – but the percentage shopping online has gone up to 81% – the third highest in Southeast Asia – and the connection speed has also increased by 44%.

The Malaysian m-commerce sector is similarly taking off, rising from 4.5 bn $US in 2019 to a projected 8.9 bn $US in 2023. Unsurprising, as smartphones are used by 89% of the population.

96% of Malaysians have adopted digital payments according to the Visa 2022 Consumer Payment Attitudes report.

Future e-commerce trends (2021-2026)

B2C e-commerce ($US billion)
2022 9.2
2023 10.8
2024 12.6
2025 14.5
2026 16.6
E-commerce spending per capita ($US)
2022 277
2023 323
2024 372
2025 424
2026 480
E-commerce spending as % of GDP
2022 2.4%
2023 2.6%
2024 2.8%
2025 3.0%
2026 3.2%

Malaysia

The E-Commerce Market

Top e-commerce segments

  1. Fashion: 31%
  2. Electronics & Media: 28%
  3. Toys, Hobby & DIY: 19%
  4. Furniture & Appliances: 13%
  5. Food & Personal Care: 10%

Cross-border e-commerce

  1. Cross-border proportion of total e-commerce – 52%
  2. Value of cross-border e-commerce – 4.0 bn $US
  3. Online shoppers who have shopped cross-border – 54%

Top 3 cross-border shopping origin markets

  1. China: 61%
  2. Singapore: 9%
  3. Japan: 5%
B2C e-commerce growth 20->21
  • Malaysia 23.8%
E-commerce % of total retail
  • Malaysia 1%
  • Asia Pacific 29%
  • World 20%
E-commerce completed on a mobile device
  • Malaysia 56%
  • Asia Pacific 65%
  • World 53%

The Credit Card Split

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Other
[{"label":"Visa","value":"58"},{"label":"Mastercard","value":"39"},{"label":"American Express","value":"2"},{"label":"Other","value":"1"}]
  • E-commerce market size 7.6 bn $US
  • E-commerce spending per capita 234 $US
  • E-commerce spending as % of GDP 2.1%

The information on our Insights pages has been compiled by us in cooperation with Datamatics and Wright & Brown. The data shown is partially owned by us and partially owned by GlobalData. © 2021 by PPRO Financial Ltd. No data and information can be used for any further publication without the explicit approval of PPRO.

Malaysia

Local Payment Methods

BitPay Type Cryptocurrency Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Boost Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High FPX Online Banking Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific GrabPay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Hyperwallet Type Bank transfer, Gift card, Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PayPal Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Paysera Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Skrill Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High 123 Type Bank transfer, Cash Regions Asia Pacific Allied Wallet Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High UnionPay SecurePay Type Local payment card Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High DuitNow Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High FavePay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High Google Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High JomPAY Type Buy Now, Pay Later Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High Mobiamo Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Razer Gold Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Razer Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High Samsung Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High ShopeePay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High SWIFT Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High 7-Eleven Type Cash Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, North America Market relevance Medium Speedpoint services Type Buy Now, Pay Later, Cash, Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance Medium Huawei Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS Market relevance Medium Paystore Type Cash Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance Medium Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium Boloro Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 BSN Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific e-pay Type Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific G2A Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium Go by Bank Islam Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific i-Muamalat Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific kiplePay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific NETELLER Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Splitit Type Instalments Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Touch ‘n Go Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific Market relevance High

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