Razorpay, a fintech unicorn, has taken a significant step by obtaining a license to onboard merchants in Malaysia for Curlec, a digital payment startup. This move is part of Razorpay's strategic plan to expand its digital payment expertise into the Malaysian market. The announcement was made during an event held in Kuala Lumpur. Under the Razorpay umbrella, Curlec has become a non-bank member of PayNet, making it the first such member since 2019. This membership empowers Curlec to play a vital role in promoting the adoption of DuitNow, a real-time payment processing system in Malaysia. Like India's UPI, DuitNow allows users to instantly transfer and receive funds using only their mobile and national identification numbers, eliminating the need for traditional bank account details.

Curlec believes that India's real-time payments technology, which has been instrumental in the success of UPI in the Indian market, will prove pivotal in driving the adoption of DuitNow payments in Malaysia. This aligns to create a cashless society, per Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) aspirations. Rahul Kothari, Chief Business Officer at Razorpay, emphasized the importance of the Malaysian market for their expansion plans. Drawing parallels between the Indian and Malaysian payments markets, Kothari expressed confidence in leveraging their expertise to facilitate the adoption of DuitNow, similar to their role in scaling UPI in India.

Following this regulatory approval, Curlec by Razorpay is now officially regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia and serves over 1,000 businesses, including well-known Malaysian brands such as Tune Protect, CTOS, Mary Kay, and The National Kidney Foundation. Zac Liew, Co-Founder & CEO of Curlec by Razorpay, celebrated the milestone of gaining access to DuitNow through their PayNet membership. Liew highlighted that since the launch of their Payment Gateway in July, they are now processing more than RM2 billion annually and serving over 1,000 merchants. This sets the stage for Curlec to bring further innovation to Malaysia's digital payment landscape and scale DuitNow to new heights. Malaysia's financial blueprint aims to lead the nation toward a cashless society to increase e-payment per capita at over a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Curlec Payment Gateway aims to serve more than 5,000 businesses with RM10 billion annualized gross transaction value (GTV) by 2025, aligning with Malaysia's digital payment growth strategy.

Gary Yeoh, Chief Commercial Officer of PayNet, welcomed this development, noting that Malaysia's digital transactions per capita have shown remarkable growth, from 49 in 2011 to over 221 in 2022, with expectations of reaching over 400 by 2026. Curlec's adoption of DuitNow adds to the country's digital payments momentum. The High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, BN Reddy, welcomed Razorpay's entry into Malaysia's fintech space through Curlec and recognized the potential for collaboration between India and Malaysia in the fintech sector. He expressed his wishes for the success of Razorpay and Curlec in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, emphasizing the fertile ground for fintech collaborations between the two nations.