Wise connected directly to PayNet on 30 July, which means opening the Wise app, scanning a DuitNow QR code at a hawker stall or shop, and paying, no separate banking app required.
What “Direct Access” Actually Means
Before this, Wise routed Malaysian ringgit transactions through intermediary banks, the standard setup for a foreign payments company operating in a market it doesn’t have direct rails into.
Plugging straight into PayNet cuts that middle step out. Wise says this lowers costs and speeds up transfers over time, and points to a real number, 77% of all its global transfers now complete within 20 seconds, double the rate from five years ago.
Malaysia becomes the ninth market where Wise has this kind of direct connection, after Singapore, Australia, the Philippines, the UK, Europe, Hungary, Brazil and Japan, and the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region specifically.
Scan-to-Pay
DuitNow QR is Malaysia’s national QR standard, already sitting on effectively every till and shopfront in the country. Wise users, whether tourists or residents, can now scan those same codes from inside the Wise app for everyday purchases. It’s rolling out progressively, Wise says full nationwide coverage across all DuitNow QR merchants is still weeks away, not immediate.
Sending Money Gets Simpler Too
DuitNow Transfer lets Wise users send ringgit using just a phone number or NRIC instead of full bank account details, standard practice for DuitNow already, now available inside Wise specifically. The receiving party’s name displays automatically before the transfer confirms, a useful check against sending money to the wrong account and a mistake that’s easier to make than it should be with manual account numbers.
This Also Affects Banks, Not Just Individual Users
The PayNet connection extends to Wise Platform, the B2B side of Wise’s business that banks and financial institutions plug into. Partners using Wise’s API get real-time recipient verification on RM transfers, the same name-matching check individual users get, but built into whatever banking product those partners are running on top of Wise’s infrastructure.
