Tête-à-Tête /
Michael Kumar
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which is more ‘‘E-payment, expedient, will provide opportunities to improve productivity and move towards a world-class payment ecosystem.
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1 1. Michael is tasked with ensuring MEPS is sustainable well into the future 2. Mobile banking is expected to grow exponentially with continuous research and development and increased security features 3. All locallyissued ATM cards will use the Malaysian Chip Card Specification developed by MEPS by the end of 2017
What is MEPS’ mission? At MEPS, our aim is to help the nation complete its payment activities through convenient, reliable and secure services, as well as to support the central bank’s e-payment agenda for the country. By 2020, the central bank targets to increase the number of e-payment transactions per capita to 200 transactions from 44, and to reduce the number of cheques from 207 million to 100 million per year. Measures to achieve this will include providing the right price signals to encourage the switch from paper-based payments to e-payments, and facilitating wider outreach of e-payments infrastructure, such as point-of-sale terminals and mobile phone banking.
What are some of the projects that MEPS is currently developing? MEPS is currently upgrading the previously applied Payment Multi Purpose Card (PMPC) standard for ATM cards to become Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) compliant. It is renamed as the Malaysian Chip Card Specification (MCCS) and the replacement of existing ATM cards is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. The PMPC was a proprietary standard, used since 2003. It was developed back when there was still uncertainty on an international standard and there was a lot of fraud involving ATM cards. Since introducing it, there was zero fraud committed using cloned ATM cards. In 2013, we decided that it was time to move on to EMV, which is the international standard used around the world.
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In addition to the typical functions of an ATM card, the new MCCS cards will have a dual interface whereby customers can perform contactless transactions at merchant outlets such as at petrol kiosks, supermarkets and for transit. Regionally, we also facilitate cross-border transaction services with several countries, namely Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China and South Korea. This offers participating banks’ customers the convenience of withdrawing cash via ATM in said countries.
What do you think are the key technology trends driving the global payment services market now? Mobile banking is expected to grow exponentially in the future, thanks to continuous research and development, as well as mitigation of security concerns. We’ve seen widespread smartphone adoption in developed markets and its increasing penetration levels in developing markets, Malaysia included. There’s positive growth in the mobile wallet market as more retailers and consumers adopt contactless technology. There are a lot of investments being put in by telecommunications companies and phone manufacturers to ensure that their products are able to support contactless features for easy payment.
Where does Malaysia stand in terms of mobile payments and real-time payment platforms? I think that for many people today, their mobile phone is an essential part of their lives. They can leave their wallets at home and survive as long as they have their ‘digital’ wallet with them. Digital wallets not only provide transaction
4/19/17 11:25 AM