DuitNow and DuitNow QR: Paying With a Phone Number, Not an Account Number

A night-market stall owner displays a single QR code. A customer using the Maybank app scans it. The next customer uses Touch ‘n Go eWallet, scanning the same QR code. Both payments land in the merchant’s account within seconds. There is no separate QR code for each bank or e-wallet — that’s DuitNow QR working quietly behind the scenes.

DuitNow: send using a phone number, not an account number

DuitNow is an instant fund transfer service across banks and e-wallets in Malaysia. The difference from an ordinary bank transfer: you don’t need to type a long bank account number. Instead, DuitNow matches a single proxy ID to a destination account.

Proxy ID	Suited for
Mobile phone number	Individuals
NRIC (identity card number)	Individuals
Passport number	Non-citizens
BRN (SSM business registration number)	Registered businesses

To send money, you don’t need to register anything — just log in to your bank app, choose DuitNow, and type the recipient’s proxy ID. To receive money, on the other hand, the recipient needs to register once to link that proxy ID to a bank account or e-wallet. A single ID can only be linked to one account at a time, but a person can register several different IDs (for example, a phone number and an NRIC) to the same account.

According to PayNet’s official website, DuitNow transfers are free up to RM5,000 per transaction. Beyond that amount, some banks charge a 50 sen fee, although many banks waive it as an incentive. The service is supported by most major banks and various participating e-wallets across the country.

DuitNow QR: one code, every bank

If DuitNow is the transfer rail, DuitNow QR is how it’s displayed at the counter. It is the same National Standard QR Code — when a merchant displays a single DuitNow QR code, a customer of any participating bank or e-wallet can scan it and pay directly, without the merchant needing to subscribe to dozens of separate proprietary QR systems.

The limits and conditions, according to PayNet:

• Transaction limit: up to RM50,000 per transaction, shared with the same DuitNow third-party transfer limit.
• Transactions under RM250: do not require additional verification at the customer level.
• Fees to users: PayNet states that paying, sending or receiving via DuitNow QR does not carry an additional charge to the user — although fees to the merchant (via the acquiring bank) may vary.

Who’s actually behind DuitNow

DuitNow and DuitNow QR are operated by PayNet (Payments Network Malaysia) — the national payment infrastructure company that is majority-owned by Bank Negara Malaysia together with major local banks. BNM itself does not operate day-to-day transactions; its role is to set the policy framework that requires banks and e-wallets to join the same infrastructure.

The original framework — the Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework (ICTF), issued December 2019 — is what required DuitNow to exist in the first place. On 30 June 2026, BNM issued its successor: the Interoperable Fund Transfer Framework (IFTF), which goes beyond account-to-account transfers to explicitly cover QR payments as well. Under the IFTF, any proprietary or closed QR network still operated by a bank or e-wallet must be fully retired by 30 June 2028, and institutions are prohibited from registering new merchants to closed schemes during that transition period.

Common mistakes

• Assuming DuitNow QR is a feature of a specific bank. It is shared infrastructure — the same QR code works regardless of which app scans it.
• Forgetting to register to RECEIVE money. Sending doesn’t require registration, but your proxy ID needs to be linked first before others can pay you through it.
• Assuming all DuitNow transfers are free with no limit. It’s free only up to RM5,000 per transaction; beyond that a small fee may be charged depending on the bank.
• Confusing PayNet with Bank Negara Malaysia. BNM sets the framework and supervises; PayNet is the one that builds and runs the payment rail every day.

What’s next

• See the regulator’s full role behind this system at Bank Negara Malaysia.
• If you’re building a product that receives or holds customer money, check when BNM approval is actually required at payment regulation in Malaysia.