KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd has expanded its cross-border DuitNow QR payment service through the CIMB OCTO app to five additional destinations, bringing its coverage to nine markets.
In a statement, the bank said the five new destinations are China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines and Laos, joining Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
The expansion, enabled through Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd's (PayNet) DuitNow QR connectivity with Alipay+, allows CIMB OCTO users to make payments at participating overseas merchants displaying the Alipay+ logo.
Customers can scan merchants' QR codes and confirm transactions directly through the OCTO app without downloading another payment application or registering for a separate Alipay+ account.
CIMB group consumer banking chief executive officer Haniz Nazlan said the expansion was aimed at meeting growing demand for convenient cross-border banking services.
"As our customers become increasingly connected and mobile, they expect banking to move seamlessly with them, including across borders.
"Expanding OCTO's DuitNow QR payment capabilities to more overseas destinations is another step towards that ambition, giving customers greater convenience and flexibility when they travel," she said.
The expansion builds on PayNet's collaboration with Ant International through Alipay+, which connects more than two billion user accounts across over 50 international payment partners.
The network supports payments at more than 150 million merchants across over 220 markets.
The service also complements existing inbound QR payment capabilities, which allow users of supported Alipay+ partner wallets to make payments at DuitNow QR merchants in Malaysia.
CIMB said OCTO recorded more than 500,000 cross-border DuitNow QR transactions as of September 2026, an increase of over 150% year-on-year.
The bank plans to progressively expand the app's cross-border payment coverage to additional markets.