Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet), operator of the national DuitNow QR standard, launched outbound payments through Ant International’s Alipay+ on 28 October 2026, letting customers of Maybank, CIMB and Hong Leong Bank pay at participating merchants in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines and Laos from their own banking apps, according to PayNet’s announcement. Fintechbits checked PayNet’s own cross-border QR page, which lists Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia as existing DuitNow QR destinations, so none of the five Alipay+ destinations overlaps with them.

How outbound DuitNow QR works

A customer opens the DuitNow QR function in a supported Malaysian banking app, scans a merchant’s QR code showing the Alipay+ logo, and confirms the payment in the same app. No Alipay+ account or extra app is needed, and Bank Islam is set to join the first three banks. PayNet calls it part of a long-term plan aligned with Bank Negara Malaysia’s vision for faster, more efficient and inclusive cross-border payments.

The deal reverses an existing flow, and PayNet’s chief executive Praveen Rajan says cross-border payments “should feel as familiar as paying at home.” Since November 2023, travellers using Alipay+ partner wallets have been able to pay at DuitNow QR merchants inside Malaysia. Outbound payments give Malaysian bank customers the same convenience abroad.

The two models now run side by side. PayNet’s bilateral links with Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia connect national QR systems directly, while the Alipay+ route uses a single commercial gateway to reach many markets at once. Ant International has been building that gateway role across Asia, including with Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong and through new licences in the UAE. PayNet’s product page promises “No extra charges, no hidden costs” for its cross-border QR service, but the Alipay+ release gives no fee or exchange-rate terms for the new DuitNow QR corridors, which is the detail travellers will care about most.