KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): Malaysia has emerged as the global leader in mobile wallet adoption with six out of 10 people using it for transactions, according to a survey.

More than one-third of consumers also no longer carry physical wallets in Malaysia, according to the survey published by financial technology (fintech) platform Adyen. Apart from mobile wallets, shoppers surveyed also liked QR codes, and Malaysians were the fastest to adopt the payment method globally.

In line with the emerging trends, Adyen’s country manager for Malaysia Lee Soon Yean highlighted the importance for businesses to build a seamless customer journey by integrating their back-end channels and enabling real-time data transfers.

“The customer experience should be cross-channel. For example, if a customer has made an online purchase, can he or she exchange it at the store instead of requesting the exchange online? Not all businesses are offering that now,” he said.

The survey involved 38,000 consumers and 13,000 merchants globally. In Malaysia, the survey was conducted among 1,000 consumers and 500 businesses.

Results of the survey also showed 73% of respondents having made online purchases through social media platforms, with TikTok Shop being the most popular choice. Further, 73% of merchants reported revenue growth after enabling social commerce.

A staggering 95% of retailers reported attempts of cyberattacks or data breaches in 2023, positioning Malaysia as the most targeted globally after Canada, according to Adyen.

Some 65% of the businesses acknowledged that fraudulent transactions and charge-backs had significantly affected their operations and profitability, exceeding the global average of 51%.

To combat fraud and reduce charge-backs, Adyen said 69% of Malaysian businesses are considering collaborating with their payment providers to implement charge-back liability guarantees.

A charge-back happens when a payment is reversed after a customer disputed a charge on his or her account statement.

“A fraudster may buy a product from the website, and has received the goods, but he or she calls the bank to claim that he or she has never received it,” Lee said.

To combat fraud, Lee recommended that merchants implement built-in risk management powered by machine learning to identify and block fraudsters, while ensuring a seamless experience for genuine customers.

While merchants should implement authentication requirements for online purchases to safeguard against fraudulent charge-backs, he also stressed the equal importance of reducing friction for long-time customers.