MALAYSIA’S PAYMENT GATEWAYS ARE A MESS

Early reposts have indicated that Malaysia’s online business is actually on the rise and that many more Malaysian’s are comfortable with purchasing online for their shopping.

However, due to Malaysia’s past online experience which evolved around fraud and con-artists, the regulators have been paranoid with with beefing up security making online payments more and more stringent.

In any online business, practicality and speed in payment is crucial. This is due to the fact that the longer it takes to make payments, the more problems can occur such as Internet disconnection and other interruption to the payment. This is more severe when the experience is mobile.

Globally, payment gateways are becoming more advance with features like 1-click or 2-clicks system which allow speedy purchase. In Malaysia however, things are moving backwards. Our local payment gateway requirements are becoming more tedious with things like 3-D verification introduced for even credit cards.

Whilst this is a Bank Negara requirement, it also hinders users from online purchases because local payment gateway is just too much hard work with a lot of steps involved. The governing body should actually look into this matter if Malaysia reckons itself to be a future digital player.

In the meantime, payment gateway providers in Malaysia are also not so serious in solving eBusiness issues. Although payment gateway providers are complied to certain procedures in processing a payment, but some elements of payment gateway designs such as pop-up windows etc are just simply unnecessary, and is impractical for mobile purchase.

These occurrences are not just limiting the usage for online payment gateway, but it also reveals that these designs were not tested and thought out properly.

The truth is that our payment gateway and Banks are a crucial player in improving eBusiness for Malaysia. But if the truth is not taken seriously, it is unlikely that eBusiness can prosper further in this country. Banks and payment gateway providers should get their wake-up call if it has not happened already by now.