The Malaysian credit and charge card market is expected to grow by 8.2% in 2024, reaching RM230.5 billion ($50.5 billion), driven by increasing consumer spending and a shift towards cashless transactions. Factors such as a growing payment infrastructure and e-commerce sector, alongside government initiatives, contribute to the rising popularity of credit and charge cards.
3 May 2024 – The Malaysian credit and charge card market is poised for significant growth, with a forecasted 8.2% expansion to RM230.5 billion ($50.5 billion) in 2024, driven by escalating consumer spending, reports GlobalData, the publisher of Electronic Payments International (EPI).
According to GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics, credit and charge card payments in Malaysia saw a robust 12.7% growth in 2023, propelled by the country’s evolving payment infrastructure, burgeoning e-commerce sector, and a notable shift towards cashless transactions. Poornima Chinta, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, highlights that credit and charge cards are the preferred payment method in Malaysia, with over 60% of total card payments by value in 2023 attributed to them.
She notes that factors such as increased consumer awareness, expanding merchant acceptance, and the benefits associated with credit and charge cards contribute to their popularity. The rise in card usage is further driven by Malaysia’s extensive point-of-sale (POS) terminal network, with 26,228 terminals per one million individuals in 2023, surpassing that of China and Japan.
To boost card acceptance among merchants, payment providers like Qashier have launched all-in-one POS solutions, while the Malaysian central bank has reduced interchange fees, capped at 0.6% for credit cards since January 2023. Additionally, banks are introducing flexible payment options like instalment plans to meet the demand for Buy Now Pay Later services.
Chinta emphasizes that the growing trend of e-commerce payments also contributes significantly to credit and charge card usage, with a 16.8% share in 2023. GlobalData projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% in the Malaysian credit card payments market between 2024 and 2028, reaching RM301.3 billion ($66.1 billion) in 2028. – ref: Yahoo Finance
