E-wallet is getting popular in Malaysia and more vendors start to accept e-wallet. An e-wallet, also known as an electronic wallet, is a convenient digital payment system that enables users to conveniently make electronic commerce transactions in a quick and secure manner. While not many people are comfortable using electronic wallets for the time being, E-wallet is getting more mainstream and offering secure, convenience and benefit compared to cash.
There are more than 10 e-wallet system in Malaysia now and we tried few of the e-wallet which is available in Kota Kinabalu now:
GrabPay
GrabPay comes together in the update Grab apps and I generally used it to pay for my grab ride.
What I like about GrabPay
- Make Grab ride payment easy
- Easy to send money between friends
What I don’ t like about GrabPay
- limited vendors in Kota Kinabalu for the time being.
Boost
Boost is one of the most aggressive e-wallets in Kota Kinabalu and I can see many regular places I visit accept Boost. Boost is accepted at Food truck, cinemas and restaurants.
What I like about Boost
- Boost offers lots of cashback promotion with vendors.
- Topping up mobile credit is easy.
- Boost can be used to pay bills (Sabah Electricity, Unifi, Astro)
- I can easily buy vouchers at a discounted price and send as a gift to my family and friends(Grab, MBO)
- Easy to pay by scanning only using QR-code feature in the apps.
BigPay
BigPay is developed by AirAsia and I used it mostly to buy Air tickets at Airasia.com. BigPay comes with a physical card in which you can use it like a Mastercard. This is convenient as many locations still don’t accept e-wallet payments. I also get AirAsia BIG points and pay for AirAsia flight bookings without the credit card fee. BigPay also claimed that they offer the most competitive exchange rate when you use their card overseas.
Setting up BigPay takes a few days as they need to verify my identification card (IC). Top up a minimum RM20 intro the account and I get the card in 5 days time.
What I like about BigPay.
- Come with a physical card which can use like a Mastercard
- Free transfer between friends in BigPay
- get AirAsia BIG points and pay for AirAsia flight bookings without the credit card fee.
What I don’ t like about BigPay
- BigPay is not as widely accepted as other e-wallets in Kota Kinabalu. I still have to use the physical card mostly and didn’t really feel like I am using e-wallet.
Conclusion: I generally use BigPay for making AirAsia ticket purchase and maybe when I travel overseas.
E-wallet we consider to use when available in Sabah
- Wechat pay
- Alipay
More e-wallet are rolling out and we should see a clearer picture which e-wallet will last long in the market. Are you willing to go cashless and use e-wallet?
Joanne Lee
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