After a long wait, Apple Pay has officially arrived in Malaysia and it offers an easier and secure way to pay with your iPhone or Apple Watch. The contactless payment feature went live for Malaysian users this morning and it support cards from three major banks. Malaysia is the second country in Southeast Asia to support Apple Pay, after Singapore.
Starting from today 9th August, users with Visa and Mastercard issued by AmBank, Maybank and Standard Chartered Bank can start using Apple Pay in Malaysia. However, it is worth nothing that AmBank and Standard Chartered Bank only support credit cards for now, while Maybank supports credit, debit and prepaid cards. According to Apple, American Express cards will support Apple Pay later this year.
Apple Pay uses NFC technology and it is accepted across thousands of retailers that accept contactless card payments. If a card terminal accepts Visa Paywave or Mastercard PayPass, it will support Apple Pay. Some of the key merchants include KFC, Maxis, Machines, McDonald’s, Mydin, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, U Mobile, Uniqlo, Village Grocer, and Watsons.
For merchants, there’s no extra charge for accepting Apple Pay. According to Maybank’s FAQ, the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for Apple Pay Acceptance is the same as existing MDR for Amex, Visa or Mastercard Debit/Credit Card.
Here’s a quick demo of using Apple Pay on an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Just double press the power button, use Face ID and tap on the terminal. Tested using an AmBank credit card. https://t.co/NcdWDbj1vP pic.twitter.com/OcaskEaBsK
— SoyaCincau (@Soya_Cincau) August 9, 2022
Besides making payments at physical stores, Apple Pay is also integrated on apps and websites such as Shopee, Sephora, Atome and Adidas. This allows seamless online transactions using your card without sharing actual card details or waiting for OTP SMS from the bank. In-app and web-based payments via Safari is supported on the iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Other extended Apple Pay and Wallet features such as Apple Card, Apple Cash, Transit Cards, send/receive money through iMessage and “Buy Now Pay Later” are still not offered in Malaysia.
Security and privacy is the biggest focus for Apple Pay and it uses industry-leading processes to protect personal data including the card details. According to Apple, the credit and debit card numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple’s server. When you add a card to the wallet, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and stored on the device’s Secure Element. When a transaction is made, Apple generates a one-time unique dynamic security code and it does not share your personal or card details with the merchant.
If you’re using an iPhone, Apple Pay requires either Face ID, Touch ID or passcode to authenticate payments. If you lose your phone, you can use the Find My iPhone feature to lock or suspend payments from the device. Apple Pay supports NFC-enabled iPhone from the iPhone 6 and above. To make payments from your wrist, it is also available for the Apple Watch Series 1 and above.
At the moment, Apple Pay is available in more than 60 countries and it works with more than 10,000 bank and network partners worldwide. We expect more Malaysian banks and cards to support Apple Pay at a later date.
You can learn how to activate your Apple Pay on your iPhone and Apple Watch in our how-to guide.
