Your phone buzzes, the cashier nods, and RM12.50 for your nasi lemak bungkus is gone before you've put your wallet away. That's DuitNow, and most of us have stopped noticing it entirely — which is exactly why it's worth a second look. Behind the scenes, PayNet (the company that runs DuitNow) has been quietly shipping features that go well past "scan and pay," and 2026 has been a particularly busy year for it. Here are five DuitNow features 2026 has brought, or is about to bring, that most Malaysians still haven't clocked, and a couple that are worth knowing before your next trip.
DuitNow Features 2026: Your QR Code Already Works Outside Malaysia
If you've only ever used DuitNow QR at the mamak, you're underusing it. DuitNow QR is now interoperable with Thailand's PromptPay, Singapore's NETS, Indonesia's QRIS, China's payment networks, and — as of 2025 — Cambodia's Bakong.
That means you can open your regular Malaysian banking app or e-wallet (Touch 'n Go eWallet is one that carries it), scan a local QR code in Bangkok or Phnom Penh, and pay directly in ringgit while the system handles the conversion behind the scenes. No changing money at the airport counter, no separate app to download the night before your flight.
It's catching on fast. Cross-border QR transactions grew 2.5 times to 29.7 million in 2025, according to PayNet. Each transaction is capped at RM3,000, which is plenty for a meal or a market haul, less useful for anything bigger like electronics or hotel deposits.
Coming Soon: Scan a UPI Code in India With the Same App
The next country on the list is India. In February 2026, PayNet signed an agreement with NPCI International, the operator of India's UPI payment system, to link DuitNow and UPI.
The rollout is happening in two stages. First, Indian travellers visiting Malaysia will be able to pay at DuitNow QR points using their UPI apps — useful given Malaysia is targeting more than two million Indian tourists under Visit Malaysia 2026. Only in the second phase will Malaysians be able to scan UPI codes and pay directly in India using their own banking apps.
So if you're planning a Mumbai trip and hoping to leave the cash card at home, hold that thought — PayNet hasn't given a firm date for phase two yet. It's one to check again before you fly, not after you land and find the QR code doesn't scan.
Cancelling a Recurring Payment No Longer Means Chasing the Merchant
DuitNow AutoDebit has quietly become the backbone of a lot of recurring payments in Malaysia — gym memberships, insurance premiums, car instalments, streaming subscriptions billed through your bank instead of a card.
The part people miss: once you've given consent, you don't have to go back to the merchant to change or cancel it. Most banking apps have a "Manage AutoDebit" section where you can see every active consent in one place, update the account it draws from, or cancel it outright. If a bank isn't letting you cancel from the app, that's on the bank, not on DuitNow itself — worth pushing back on, or taking as a sign to switch which account you use for recurring bills.
The same digital-first thinking now shows up in other government-linked processes too, like how you can check and pay JPJ summons online instead of queuing at a counter with a printed slip.
The National Fraud Portal Is Actually Getting Money Back
Scam calls and fake investment links aren't going away, but what happens after you get caught out has changed. The National Fraud Portal (NFP), built and run by PayNet, links banks, Bank Negara Malaysia, and enforcement agencies onto one system so a scam report doesn't have to bounce between institutions while the money keeps moving.
Call the 997 National Scam Response Centre hotline (open 24/7) immediately after a bad transfer, and the NFP alerts every participating bank at once, flagging the receiving "mule" account before the money moves further downstream. PayNet reports that in 2025 alone, this coordination helped identify around 57,700 victim accounts, with roughly RM46 million in earmarked funds in the process of being returned to affected users.
It's not a guarantee — speed still matters more than anything, and funds already withdrawn as cash are usually gone for good. But it's a real, working system, not just a hotline number printed on a poster at the bank. It sits alongside other digital protections Malaysians are increasingly relying on, from fraud alerts baked into banking apps to the account-security habits that matter for bigger, longer-term savings pots like KWSP.
DuitNow QR Just Crossed 3 Million Touchpoints Nationwide
The unglamorous stat that actually explains why DuitNow feels like it's everywhere now: PayNet added 681,250 new DuitNow QR acceptance points in 2025, including 267,780 among small and micro businesses, pushing the nationwide total past three million.
The growth wasn't concentrated in KL either. PayNet's own numbers show non-urban transaction volumes tripling year-on-year in Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah — states that, until recently, ran heavily on cash for everyday purchases. That's arguably the real story behind DuitNow's 2026 features: not just flashier cross-border links for travellers, but a payment rail that's finally reached the pasar malam stall two towns over from where you grew up.
Across the whole system, PayNet processed 8.44 billion digital transactions in 2025, at an average of 260 per second, with 99.995% uptime. For a piece of national infrastructure most people only think about when it goes down, that's a quietly serious number to sit with.
FAQ
What is DuitNow?
DuitNow is Malaysia's national instant payment system, operated by PayNet, that lets you send money or pay merchants using a phone number, MyKad number, or QR code instead of a full bank account number.
Is DuitNow QR free to use for consumers?
Yes. There are no fees charged to consumers for standard DuitNow QR payments, whether you're paying locally or through the cross-border QR links with Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, China and Cambodia.
Can Malaysians already pay in India using DuitNow?
Not yet. As of mid-2026, the PayNet-NPCI agreement covers phase one, which lets Indian travellers use UPI at Malaysian DuitNow QR points. A firm date for Malaysians to pay in India via DuitNow hasn't been announced.
What should I do immediately if I've been scammed via a transfer?
Call the National Scam Response Centre at 997 as soon as possible. The National Fraud Portal notifies banks in real time, and speed is the biggest factor in whether a mule account can be frozen before funds are moved out.
Is there a limit on DuitNow cross-border QR payments?
Yes. Each cross-border QR transaction is capped at RM3,000, and it shares the same daily limit as local DuitNow QR payments, though this can vary slightly by bank.