The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) said in a statement on Friday that it will continue to adjust the service of its integrated “Simple Pay” point-of-sale terminal, with the aim of helping Macau’s economic development and the digital transformation of local payment methods.

“Simple Pay” is an integrated payment terminal launched in 2021, which combines various digital payment methods, such as Mpay, MacauPass, Alipay, BOCPay and Tai Fung Pay.

The monetary regulator also said that it will expand the acceptance of mobile payment, which is currently basically covering offline retail sectors, in order to facilitate local merchants to collect payment, reconcile funds and balance accounts.

The regulator also said that it will continue to enhance the security and carrying capacity of “Simple Pay”, as well as optimise payment functions such as introducing a simplified version and adding a large font design, as well as launching registration-free micro-payments, in order to improve the convenience of daily payments for the public.

According to the regulator, merchants can accept a wide range of international payment tools, including WeChat Pay and Alipay from the mainland, WeChat Pay Hong Kong and Alipay Hong Kong, Kakao Pay from South Korea, and related payment services of international card organisations such as UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay Cloud Flash, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Huawei Pay, to enable residents and visitors from different countries and regions to spend money in Macau more easily.

According to the statement, AMCM recorded 260 million local mobile payment transactions in 2022, amounting to 26 billion patacas, an increase of about 40 percent over 2021 and a significant increase of more than 20 times over the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The regulator said it will continue to promote and support the acceptance of more electronic payment tools from overseas countries and regions. 

This undated handout photo shows a “Simple Pay” integrated point-of-sale terminal. – Photo by AMCM