Chart of the Week: Malaysia e-commerce sees rise in alternative payments

Brands such as GrabPay and ShopeePay are popular payment methods.

Alternative payments now make up over 1 in 3 of e-commerce payments transaction values in Malaysia, according to a report by GlobalData.

Amongst payment tools, alternative payment solutions made up 35.7% of the market share in 2023. 

Brands such as GrabPay and ShopeePay are popular alternative payment methods, GlobalData said. Global brands such as PayPal and Google Pay are also available in the market.

Payment cards and bank transfers made up 24.9% of the e-commerce transaction value in 2023. Credit cards were more preferred than debit cards due to its various perks offered, such as interest free installment payment options, reward programs, cashback, and discounts.

The government’s push for digital payments helped drive this increase, the data and analytics company said.

In particular, the National e-Commerce Strategic Roadmap (NESR) reportedly helped onboard nearly 1.51 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to embrace e-commerce between 2016 and 2023, according to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.

Overall, Malaysia’s e-commerce sector is expected to be worth $10.6b (MYR48.5b) in 2024, growing 11.3% compared to 2023, according to a report by GlobalData.