The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) announced during a press conference yesterday that it will start “Simple Pay’s” first test run on Monday.
According to a statement handed out during the press conference at AMCM’s office in Calçada do Gaio, in the first stage of “Simple Pay” customers’ QR codes on their smartphones will be scanned by the cashier. The statement said that gradually more shops will be using “Simple Pay”.
The statement noted that in 2020 there were 65.49 million transactions, accounting for a total of 6.33 billion patacas was paid through e-payments. The statement said that the figures are four and five times more than 2019 respectively, adding that they are 49 and 71 times more than 2018 respectively.
The statement pointed out that if the first phase of “Simple Pay” runs smoothly, then the second phase of the system will be launched next month.
During a question-and-answer session at the press conference, AMCM Banking Supervision Department Senior Public Servant Ho Chong Wa said that all the machines that the shops are using to collect e-payments can be upgraded to the “Simple Pay” system, adding that they do not need new machines. He also said that another perk of having “Simple Pay” is that the company responsible for the payment machine will be paying the shop owner for their transactions, adding that the shop owner will not need to go to different e-payment companies for the money they take that day. He stressed that AMCM urged companies responsible for the transaction calculation to transfer the payment to shop owners’ bank accounts within one working day.
Currently, there are multiple machines for local e-wallets such as an Mpay machine and Bank of China (BOC) machine. “Simple Pay” will integrate all local and mainland or foreign countries’ e-payments into one machine. The shop owner can choose whichever machine they would like to use as they all can be upgraded to “Simple Pay”
When asked how much the transaction fee will be for the new system, Ho said that it will cost less since the shop owner only needs to pay one transaction fee to the machine’s company. He also said that since some shops would need fewer machines, he hoped that the machines that are obsolete after implementing the new system can be recycled and distributed to new shops that never had an e-payment machine.
Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council members pointed out yesterday that some shop owners in the district were not prepared for the new launch. AMCM Advisory Council member Henrietta Lau Hang Kun said that she saw the concerns and had already urged responsible entities to follow-up on the matter. She also said that if any shop owners or residents were having problems with the new system, they can contact AMCM for assistant or more information.
This logo provided by Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) shows the official sign for Simple Pay.
