Kuala Lumpur, 7 October 2025 — In a landmark upgrade to Malaysia’s payment infrastructure, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has launched RENTAS+, an enhanced version of its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system that enables 24/7, year-round interbank fund transfers and settlement. The move is a signal of Malaysia’s ambition to modernise its financial market infrastructure and better support the rapid growth of retail payments.
Previously, the existing RENTAS system settled retail payments only twice a day on a deferred net basis, exposing banks to settlement and credit risks between settlement windows. With RENTAS+, transactions such as DuitNow fund transfers, QR payments, and e-commerce payments are now settled on a gross basis immediately after completion.
To support continuous operation, BNM has introduced an automatic liquidity facility that functions round the clock, using mechanisms like repurchase agreements (repos) and sell-and-buy-back agreements to supply intraday funds.
According to BNM Governor Dato’ Sri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, RENTAS+ “strengthens the resilience of Malaysia’s financial market infrastructure, while providing a secure, scalable, and flexible settlement platform for future innovations.”
The upgraded system is built using modern cloud technology, and Malaysia becomes the first ASEAN country to offer a fully round-the-clock RTGS settlement platform.
Why This Matters
1. Reduces settlement risk & credit exposure
By eliminating net deferred settlement windows, RENTAS+ minimizes the time banks are exposed to counterparty risk. Each retail payment is settled in real time, reducing credit and liquidity stress among financial institutions.
2. Supports surging retail payments
Retail transaction volume and value in Malaysia have grown rapidly, by 49% in volume and 22% in value since 2024, putting pressure on the existing settlement infrastructure.RENTAS+ helps absorb that load more robustly.
3. Enables next-generation payment innovation
With 24/7 settlement, fintechs, neobanks, and merchants gain more flexibility. Nighttime, cross-border, and real-time services become more viable without the constraint of business hours.
4. Liquidity and market stability
Round-the-clock liquidity support helps ensure banks can maintain smooth operations and avoid gridlock in periods of high transactional stress or during non-business hours.
What to Watch & Risks
- Operational resilience: The system will need strong infrastructure, redundancy, cybersecurity, and failover management to operate reliably 24/7.
- Cost and usage pressures: Banks must adapt systems, staffing, and possibly pricing models to absorb the infrastructure upgrades and increased settlement burden.
- Behavioral shifts: Some transactions currently batched or delayed may move to real-time, affecting liquidity cycles and internal bank operations.
- Regulatory & access issues: Ensuring that all participants, including smaller banks and non-bank payment service providers, can access RENTAS+ on fair terms will be critical for system-wide adoption.
