Abang Johari (far left), Chan, Abdul Aziz, Sabariah and Muhammad Abdullah flash the thumbs-up at the event at Wisma Bapa Malaysia, Petra Jaya here, today, with Cai Jianbo and his team in the background who joined the launch via Zoom.
KUCHING (March 4): The state’s mobile app for cashless payments Sarawak Pay will go global as ‘SPay Global’ after its integration with international payment platform UnionPay, which has been approved by Bank Negara.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the collaboration is historic to both Sarawak and UnionPay, which can be used internationally.
“I would like to express my appreciation to Bank Negara for approving the integration between UnionPay and Sarawak Pay on the international platform that is historic to both Sarawak and UnionPay.
“To reinforce our branding and presence on the global stage, it is now timely for us to rename our Sarawak Pay eWallet to SPay Global and in relation to this, we shall seek Bank Negara’s approval for a bigger eWallet size, perhaps to a maximum of 1,000 Euros,” said Abang Johari during the launching of UnionPay Virtual Card on Sarawak Pay at Wisma Bapa Malaysia, Petra Jaya here, today.
Sarawak Pay was launched by the state government in 2017 as part of its effort to introduce a digital economy.
It enables payments through an electronic wallet, by credit card and online banking and has a ‘scan and pay’ feature that facilitates payment by scanning a QR code on a bill or displayed by a retailer.
He added that based on current trends, Sarawak has been setting itself in the right direction towards digitalisation.
“Prime Minister’s recent speech on digitalisation at the national front only seek to endorse Sarawak’s approach as correct all along.
“Today’s event is another milestone achieved in the pursuit of digitalising Sarawak. Sarawak Pay is ready to rollout the feature of UnionPay Virtual Card on its eWallet platform. This will enable the Sarawak Pay eWallet to be used for payment overseas, where UnionPay QR code is accepted,” he said.
The success in the collaborative effort of both parties was the result of the MoU which was signed with UnionPay during Abang Johari’s visit to China in April 2019.
“I am happy to see that today we have successfully realised our aspirations to go global and that our Sarawak Pay eWallet can be used for a seamless cashless payment transaction internationally,” he said.
To date, close to RM1 billion have been transacted on Sarawak Pay and the state’s mobile app expects to see further growth of Sarawak Pay with this UnionPay partnership.
UnionPay International is accepted in Europe, UK, European Union, North America, Asia including China, India, Hongkong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Abang Johari also elaborated that with the collaboration between Sarawak Pay and UnionPay, both systems will be combined and their respective QR codes can be used throughout the country by both platforms.
“Even tourists or visitors that comes to Sarawak who wishes to use UnionPay here is acceptable.
“This is a success brought to us in Sarawak, because we are the first to use UnionPay International,” he said.
Meanwhile, SiliconNet Technologies Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Dato Husain said Sarawak Pay has grown from 50,000 users to half a million (500,000) users.
“To date, close to 70,000 businesses in Sarawak have registered for their Sarawak Pay merchant accounts to receive cashless payment from their customers,” he said.
SiliconNet Technologies Sdn Bhd is the company licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia to operate Sarawak Pay.
“I am very proud and encouraged to see the strong uptake and support of Sarawak Pay among Sarawakians.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to mention that as of yesterday, the total amount of payments transacted on Sarawak Pay has surpassed the RM1 billion mark. This is indeed a great milestone achievement to our very own Sarawak eWallet,” he said.
Also present at the launching were Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, Deputy State Secretary (Performance and Service Delivery Transformation), Datu Dr Sabariah Putit, SAINS chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam and UnionPay International Shanghai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur representatives.
Also speaking at the launch was UnionPay president who is also UnionPay International (UPI) chairman, Cai Jianbo who spoke via the Zoom video conferencing platform.