PayNet membership will help Curlec drive nationwide adoption of real-time payments through DuitNow
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 26 October, 2023: Razorpay, India’s leading full-stack payments and banking platform for Businesses announced expanding its footprint by obtaining a license to acquire merchants in Malaysia for Curlec, at an event in Kuala Lumpur today. Additionally, Curlec by Razorpay is now a non-bank member of Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), the national payments network and shared central infrastructure for Malaysia’s financial markets. Curlec Founders (Zac Liew & Steve Kucia), Razorpay India CBO - Rahul Kothari and PayNet CCO - Gary Yeoh shared this announcement with the media and customers at the event.
The 'Curlec by Razorpay' Payment Gateway is now regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and committed to being a fully compliant organization. Razorpay has been relentlessly working towards building the financial backbone for businesses in India and will now take forward this legacy into Malaysia and together with Curlec, build a safe, customer-first, and innovative payment infrastructure for Malaysia.
As the first new member of PayNet since 2019, Curlec by Razorpay is now empowered to drive the adoption of DuitNow, real-time payment processing across a wider cross-section of Malaysia than before. Similar to UPI (Unified Payment Interface) in India, DuitNow allows one to transfer and receive funds instantly using just their mobile number and national identification number, without needing a bank account number. This move allows Curlec to support BNM’s aspirations to create a cashless society.
In India, real-time payment transactions have continued their upward trajectory, fuelled primarily by the growth of UPI payments. In August 2023 alone, UPI payments surged to 10 billion transactions for the first time. Having been a front-runner in driving innovations in UPI since 2017, Razorpay’s expertise in UPI along with its extensive experience in understanding and innovating in a dynamic landscape like India will empower Curlec to fast-track adoption of real-time payments in Malaysia through DuitNow. Curlec believes that India’s real-time payments technology will prove instrumental to the adoption of DuitNow payments in Malaysia, due to the scale and success UPI has achieved in the Indian market.
Rahul Kothari, Chief Business Officer, Razorpay expressed enthusiasm for their investment in Malaysia's domestic payment ecosystem, “We are thrilled to become a member of PayNet and full-heartedly support Bank Negara's vision of empowering consumers and businesses of Malaysia to become a cashless society. Malaysia is an important strategic market for us as we see plenty of similarities with the Indian payments market. Our extensive experience in navigating the diverse and dynamic landscape of the Indian market empowers us to continually leverage that expertise, tackling various challenges and resolving payment issues on a global scale. I believe that we can help play a pivotal role in driving the adoption of DuitNow, similar to how we helped scale UPI in India”
Kothari added, “It is incredible to witness the passion that Zac, Steve, and the team have brought to this space, and we would like to congratulate them on achieving a remarkable milestone in such a short time. Together with Team Curlec, we are dedicated to propelling Malaysian businesses to new heights through cutting-edge technology and local insights, forging a seamless path for their payment needs.”
Zac Liew, Co-Founder & CEO of Curlec by Razorpay hailed Curlec’s newfound access to DuitNow via its membership to PayNet, “It excites us to see the momentum our ‘Payments Uncompromised’ approach is building, especially by becoming the newest member of PayNet since 2019. Since launching our Payment Gateway in July, we are now processing in excess of RM2 billion annually and serving over 1,000 merchants. This sets the platform for Curlec to bring further innovation to Malaysia’s digital payment landscape, as well as scale DuitNow to the next level with our expertise in real-time payments - both in India and Malaysia.”
Liew added, “Malaysia continues to take steps through its financial blueprint towards a cashless society with the aim of e-payment per capita increasing at over a 15% CAGR by 2026. The targeted growth of Malaysia’s digital payments sets the path for Curlec Payment Gateway’s target to serve more than 5,000 businesses with RM10 billion annualised gross transaction value (GTV) by 2025.“
Gary Yeoh, CCO, PayNet said at the event, “Malaysia’s Financial Sector blueprint seeks to futureproof key digital infrastructures to enable more digital finance solutions, and Curlec’s Payment Gateway is a welcome addition to our momentum in the blueprint. Digital transactions per capita have more than quadrupled, hiking from 49 in 2011 to over 221 in 2022. With the expectation that the number will reach over 400 by 2026, Curlec’s adoption of DuitNow is another ship lifted on the rising tide of digital payments.”
The High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, BN Reddy said, “The High Commission of India welcomes the successful entry of India’s leading fintech player Razorpay into Malaysia’s fintech space through Curlec. He also welcomed Curlec’s joining of Paynet as a member. There is significant potential for India-Malaysia collaboration in fintech space. India with its global leading role in digital payments powered by Digital India stack and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Malaysia with its digital economy priorities, offers fertile ground for such collaborations in fintech. I wish Razorpay and Curlec Teams success in Malaysia and in the Southeast Asia region.”
Curlec, now regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia, is trusted by over 1,000 businesses, including some of Malaysia’s most prominent brands like Tune Protect, CTOS, Mary Kay, and The National Kidney Foundation. In February 2022, Razorpay announced its first international expansion into Southeast Asia with the acquisition of a majority stake in Curlec.
