This new contactless feature is made possible through a partnership with Payments Network Malaysia (“PayNet”) powered by Soft Space, with an aim to bring down the cost of going cashless even more for businesses.

As cashless and contactless payments continue to be on the rise with more consumers and businesses shifting towards cleaner and safer ways to transact post MCO, the HLB Tap On Phone will further grow this payment option as businesses can easily transform their Android mobile devices into a payment acceptance terminal for VISA, MasterCard and MyDebit payments by leveraging on near-field communication (“NFC”) capabilities, which allows for payment transactions anytime, anywhere. Most importantly, the new contactless payment solution is a cost-effective option for micro and smaller businesses as they no longer need to rent and pay monthly maintenance fees for separate card payment terminals.

Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB said that the Bank will continue to innovate its product offerings and services to enable greater business efficiency and cost optimisation for its customers in the recovery phase of the MCO, while contributing towards building a cashless society in Malaysia.

“As a Bank that has long embraced a digital at the core strategy, we are well-positioned to enable our customers to adapt their payment and transaction methods beyond just meeting the needs of the new normal. We are here to help all businesses, especially our SMEs and micro traders to be more digital and embrace cashless as a way to improve resiliency, recover and eventually grow their businesses. We believe Hong Leong Bank Tap On Phone will not only be able to provide customers with a simple, seamless and secure payment solution that is low-cost and accessible to all types of businesses, but it will also help increase sales as it allows consumers to have more payment options,” added Fuda.

The contactless payment solution is easy to set up. Customers just need to download the Hong Leong Bank Tap On Phone App available on the Google Play Store to turn their mobile devices into payment terminals. Much like a credit card terminal, SMEs can accept payments below RM250 without a PIN number. Additionally, Hong Leong Bank Tap On Phone will issue digital receipts via email or SMS to customers, helping business owners be more sustainable and at the same time, reduce the cost needed for receipt paper rolls in the long run.

“PayNet is pleased to collaborate with Hong Leong Bank on its Tap On Phone solution which allow businesses to adopt card payments with contactless capability, addressing current customer needs and preferences. This is in line with the Government’s efforts to ease smaller merchants’ transition to cashless payments through affordable yet innovative payment solutions and at the same time encourage more households to embrace digital payments,” said Peter Schiesser, Group Chief Executive Officer of PayNet.

"The introduction of Hong Leong Bank Tap on Phone is a continuation of our goal to reshape finance by taking away the complexity of financial technology so that our partners can go-to-market with an innovative solution aimed at helping their customers," said Joel Tay, Chief Executive Officer of Soft Space. "This goal becomes even more important in a Covid-19 era, where merchants and customers can not only benefit from cashless transactions but also feel safe doing so."

HLB is targeting to have 10,000 merchants adopt Hong Leong Bank Tap On Phone within a year. Currently, this new contactless payment solution accepts transactions below RM250. The Bank will soon enable businesses to accept contactless transactions above RM250 with a PIN as well as QR based transactions in the future.