AMCM to launch an integrated e-payment platform in Q1 2021

The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) may roll out an integrated payment platform in the first quarter of 2021. This will enable an all-inclusive payment device to perform transactions made with all e-payment tools in the city.
Member of the Board of Directors of the AMCM Lau Hang Kun unveiled the scheme at yesterday’s TDM radio program Macau Forum.
The project has been long planned, said Lau, adding: “Banks and other financial institutions have embarked on works regarding the integration of payment platforms between each other, and also between merchants.”
Until now, the AMCM has launched over 10 mobile payment tools. By the end of October, there were about 67,000 mobile payment devices at local stores, up 1.8 times from the end of last year.
The scheme will require local retailers to upgrade their payment terminals to a device that allows them to receive electronic payments from customers and make some amendments to their operations.
Macau has seen a rapid surge in mobile payment transactions this year. According to Lau, the value of mobile payment transactions exceeded MOP4.7 billion in the first 10 months of this year. This is 3.8 times the annual tally reported in 2019 and 52.5 times that of 2018.
She also disclosed that the AMCM started discussions with the Transport Bureau in June to study possibilities for enabling bus fares to be paid by various e-payment tools.
In the next stage, the AMCM will examine ways to tie bus-related sub-transactions, such as interchanging discounts, in with the proposed mobile payment channel. Staff Reporter