Yes, even fried banana sellers use QR codes, says deputy minister

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are well positioned to tap Asean's 680-million-consumer market under the proposed Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), supported by their high level of digital adoption, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin said.

He said local MSMEs had made significant progress in digitalisation, with QR code payments now widely accepted, including by small rural hawkers.

“Wherever you go, even small traders selling fried bananas now accept QR code payments.

“Our MSMEs are highly advanced in digital adoption. I am confident that, with their level of digital literacy, even the smallest village businesses that already use digital payments are ready to enter this 680-million-consumer market,” he said during the question-and-answer session in Dewan Negara today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Tiew Way Keng on the government's measures to ensure MSMEs are not burdened by the high costs of cross-border digitalisation, including the implementation of e-Invoicing in the regional context.

On e-Invoicing, Sim said Malaysia had made good progress in its rollout as part of the country's efforts to align with global digital standards.

However, he said the government recognised that not all businesses were ready and had therefore introduced threshold-based exemptions, as announced by the Finance Ministry, to give affected businesses more time to comply.