If you are using your smartphone a lot, most probably you do have at least 1 e-wallet app installed in your device that you carry around every day. Though not all of us Malaysians are very tech-savvy, more and more are jumping onto the e-Payment bandwagon to pay their bills. Since the advent of the first e-wallet in Malaysia in 2017, the adoption of the new preferred mode of transaction has increased by leaps and bounds. Sooner or later digital payment will be able to replace our paper bills and coins, no?


It appears that even our government is encouraging more Malaysians to use digital payment in everything. The Budget 2020 tabled by our Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng stated that the government will be providing all eligible Malaysians (aged 18 and above with an annual income less than RM100,000) a one-off RM30 incentive to accelerate the growth of e-wallet usage in Malaysia. However do note that the one-off payment can only be claimed and used within 2 months (1st January till 29th February 2020). It is expected that 15 million Malaysians will benefit from this initiative. So make sure you claim your FREE RM30 in your e-wallet ok.
So which e-wallet(s) should we choose to enjoy more privileges and maximize our savings? But before that do you know that in Malaysia alone, there are currently more than 40 different e-wallets available at our disposal? However not all of them will survive and by next year there will only be 4 or 5 e-wallets left in your smartphones. So what are the best e-wallets that we Malaysians should be downloading and using for our new cashless era?

1 GrabPay
Based on a study conducted by Southeast Asia Online price aggregator platform iPrice in partnership with mobile data and analytics platform App Annie Intelligence, GrabPay is the king of Malaysia's E-Wallet (for now). It is the most-used e-wallet though it arrived relatively late in the cashless payment race. Then again, it is able to achieve such feat thanks to its integrative services which include ride-hailing, food, hotels, and prepaid just to name a few. In other words, GrabPay is your all-in-one e-wallet for virtually everything.
2 Touch n' Go
Launched earlier than Grab, Touch n'Go has really gained a lot of ground in the past 2 years and it now boasts around 100,000 merchants and 5 million registered users. If GrabPay is merely a standalone e-wallet app, Touch n' Go would be the forerunner is this cashless battle right now. Do you know that you can use it to pay for your transactions on Lazada, Taobao and TMall? Yes the toll fees that you need to pay using Touch n' Go help it to prosper as well.
3 Boost
The third in the list is Axiata-backed Boost which now has around 4.8 million users and 115,000 merchants in its platform. In terms of branding and visibility, it does feel that Boost has the upper hand which will allow it to grow even faster and rise among the ranks to give booth Grab and Touch n' Go a run for their money.
4. Fave
One of the best e-wallet providers with a consistent strong showing is Fave which acquired Groupon Malaysia. Being a pioneer, Fave has something up its sleeves that others do not-the ability to use credit card, debit card and other e-wallets as payment methods. With 4 million users, Fave is definitely on its way to become one of the superapps in Asian region. Like Boost, Fave is also widely acceptable in many shops, proving that it has a lot of merchants on board.
5. BigPay
Interestingly, BigPay by AirAsia made the cut for the Top 5 E-Wallet in Malaysia and pipped the likes of AliPay and vCash. It is a shame that Digi-backed VCash will be retired at the end of this month, confirming that Malaysia's E-Wallet industry is becoming more competitive. BigPay is the de facto wallet for those who love to travel abroad for their vacation. Users will get the best currency exchange rate, discounts on AirAsia.com and allowing you to earn Big Points to be redeem free flights just to name a few.
So which E-Wallet(s) do you have? I personally believe that you should try to install all 5 of them as they provide different benefits to users. It is expected that cashless payment will overtake your cold-hard cash by 2021, so it makes perfect sense f or us to start using these e-wallet apps and start reaping the benefits, privileges and discounts that are in store for us. Even our Malaysia government is actively encouraging us to embrace digital payment, so it is time for us to use our electronic wallets. 👍😀