Mobile Money Gets Safer

With PayNet’s DuitNow mobile money transfer, users no longer need to divulge bank account numbers.

- Helena Hon

Mobile money transfer services are not new to Malaysia. Banks provide these services and so do remittance and financial services companies. However, of all the mobile payment apps available in Malaysia, none are perhaps as instant, convenient, free and secure as DuitNow — a revolutionary real time retail payments platform (RPP) brought to Malaysian consumers and businesses by Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd or PayNet, the same people behind the debit card system MyDebit, Interbank GIRO (IBG), Real Time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities (RENTAS), payment gateway (FPX), online bill payment scheme JomPAY, and many others.

In fact, PayNet is Malaysia’s premier payments network which is jointly owned by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and other financial institutions. Over the years, the company has rolled out a range of services and the latest one is DuitNow, reported to go live this December.

THUMBS UP FOR PRIVACY AND SECURITY

What makes DuitNow different from other mobile money transfer services, with a thumbs-up for privacy and security, is that users need not divulge their bank account numbers in order to receive money; they only need to share their mobile phone numbers which gives another layer of protection for users’ private information. DuitNow, in itself, also does not have access to bank account information as it is essentially a payment processor that routes the money from bank to bank according to instruction.

How it works is through integrating the technology in to the banks’ internet and mobile banking platforms as well as the mobile apps of DuitNow users, essentially enabling anyone holding a bank account and having a mobile phone to send and receive money through their phones instantly 24/7. DuitNow is now available through 14 banks although the number is expected to rise in days to come.