Project International Trade's Virtual Toolkit to Asia​

Malaysia

Why Malaysia?

Now a newly industrialised market economy, it is ranked the third- largest in Southeast Asia and 33rd-largest in the world. According to a recent HSBC report, Malaysia will become the world’s 21st largest economy by 2050, with a GDP of $1.2 trillion and a GDP per capita of $29,247.

Like other countries in Southeast Asia, Malaysia, which has a population of 33.5 million, has a rapidly evolving payments landscape and has recently enjoyed accelerated e-commerce growth, driven largely by high mobile penetration rates, which rose to 78% in 2020. Naturally, Malaysians favour mobile payments, with usage hitting 40% last year, dwarfing that of neighbouring countries like Singapore (26%) which has an extremely developed payments infrastructure. The number of mobile banking payments also soared by 125% in 2020 following the initiation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19, which lent to the immense growth of its digital economy…Read More

"The digitalisation of payments has seen a meteoric rise in Malaysia in the last five years, and it is likely to be a harbinger for further innovation and development to come."
- Global Processing Services

Key information you need to know

Click on the icons below to view the resources in each section

Hear some insights from global industry players

3 questions with Damien Gough, Head of Asia Pacific, GPS

  • What are the market opportunities for Malaysia and what do GPS look for?
  • What is the strategy for GPS to enter Malaysia?
  • What are the biggest hurdles to setting up in Malaysia?

  • How has the payments industry developed in Malaysia?
  • What do you see as the real growth areas in Malaysia going forward?
  • What are the challenges and barriers to entering the Malaysian market for new players?

  • How has the payments industry developed in Malaysia?
  • What are the challenges and barriers to entering the Malaysian market for new players?
  • What are the strategic and partnership opportunities available in Malaysia for new players?

Useful contacts

John Ryan

Director of Policy
The Payments Association Asia

Ms Mei Sim Lai OBE

Chair
The British Malaysian Society

Jennifer Lopez

BMCC Chief Executive Officer
British-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (BMCC)
Tel: +60 3 2163 1784

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