Razorpay, India’s Leading Full-Stack Payments and Banking Platform for Businesses is expanding its footprint by obtaining a licence to acquire merchants in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for Curlec. The company is driven by its strong vision and unwavering commitment to addressing digital payment challenges in growing economies. Furthermore, Curlec by Razorpay has joined Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), the common core infrastructure and national payments network for Malaysia’s financial markets, as a non-bank member. During the ceremony, the news was made to the media and customers by Razorpay India CBO Rahul Kothari, PayNet CCO Gary Yeoh, and Curlec Founders Zach Liew and Steve Kucia.
The ‘Curlec by Razorpay’ Payment Gateway is dedicated to being a completely compliant organisation and is currently governed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Razorpay has been working tirelessly to provide the financial foundation for Indian businesses. Now, it will carry on this heritage into Malaysia by collaborating with Curlec to create a cutting-edge, secure, and customer-focused payment infrastructure.
Curlec by Razorpay, the first new PayNet member since 2019, is now able to promote DuitNow, real-time payment processing, throughout a larger segment of Malaysia than previously. Like UPI (Unified Payment Interface) in India, DuitNow enables instantaneous fund transfers and receipts without the requirement for a bank account number, utilising only the user’s national identification number and mobile number. Curlec can now assist BNM in achieving their goal of a cashless world thanks to this action.
Real-time payment transactions have been increasing in India, mostly due to the expansion of UPI payments. UPI payments reached 10 billion transactions for the first time in August 2023 alone. Razorpay has led the way in advancing UPI technologies since 2017, and its deep understanding of and track record of innovation in a dynamic market like India will enable Curlec to accelerate the adoption of real-time payments in Malaysia via DuitNow. Given the size and popularity of UPI in the Indian market, Curlec thinks that real-time payments technology from India will play a significant role in the uptake of DuitNow payments in Malaysia.
Rahul Kothari, Chief Business Officer, Razorpay expressed enthusiasm for their investment in Malaysia’s domestic payment ecosystem, “Today’s event marks a significant milestone for Curlec by Razorpay. We are thrilled to become a member of PayNet and full-heartedly support Bank Negara’s vision of empowering consumers and businesses of Malaysia to become a cashless society. Malaysia is an important strategic market for us as we see plenty of similarities with the Indian payments market. Our extensive experience in navigating the diverse and dynamic landscape of the Indian market empowers us to continually leverage that expertise, tackling various challenges and resolving payment issues on a global scale. I believe that we can help play a pivotal role in driving the adoption of DuitNow, similar to how we helped scale UPI in India”
Kothari added, “It is incredible to witness the passion that Zac, Steve, and the team have brought to this space, and we would like to congratulate them on achieving a remarkable milestone in such a short time. Together with Team Curlec, we are dedicated to propelling Malaysian businesses to new heights through cutting-edge technology and local insights, forging a seamless path for their payment needs.”
Zac Liew, Co-Founder & CEO of Curlec by Razorpay hailed Curlec’s newfound access to DuitNow via its membership to PayNet, “It excites us to see the momentum our ‘Payments Uncompromised’ approach is building, especially by becoming the newest member of PayNet since 2019. Since launching our Payment Gateway in July, we are now processing in excess of RM2 billion annually and serving over 1,000 merchants. This sets the platform for Curlec to bring further innovation to Malaysia’s digital payment landscape, as well as scale DuitNow to the next level with our expertise in real-time payments – both in India and Malaysia.”
Liew added, “Malaysia continues to take steps through its financial blueprint towards a cashless society with the aim of e-payment per capita increasing at over a 15% CAGR by 2026. The targeted growth of Malaysia’s digital payments sets the path for Curlec Payment Gateway’s target to serve more than 5,000 businesses with RM10 billion annualised gross transaction value (GTV) by 2025.”
Gary Yeoh, CCO, PayNet said at the event, “Malaysia’s Financial Sector blueprint seeks to futureproof key digital infrastructures to enable more digital finance solutions, and Curlec’s Payment Gateway is a welcome addition to our momentum in the blueprint. Digital transactions per capita have more than quadrupled, hiking from 49 in 2011 to over 221 in 2022. With the expectation that the number will reach over 400 by 2026, Curlec’s adoption of DuitNow is another ship lifted on the rising tide of digital payments.”
The High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, BN Reddy said, “The High Commission of India welcomes the successful entry of India’s leading fintech player Razorpay into Malaysia’s fintech space through Curlec. He also welcomed Curlec’s joining of Paynet as a member. There is significant potential for India-Malaysia collaboration in the fintech space. India with its global leading role in digital payments powered by Digital India stack and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Malaysia with its digital economy priorities, offers fertile ground for such collaborations in fintech. I wish Razorpay and Curlec Teams success in Malaysia and in the Southeast Asia region.”
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