Merchantrade Money Adds Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet Support for Malaysian Travellers
TLDR
- Merchantrade Money becomes the first home-grown Malaysian non-bank e-money issuer to enable dual native NFC tap payments via Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet
- Cardholders can now pay at over 100 million Visa touchpoints worldwide with their phone, no physical card needed
- Powered by Visa Token Service, every tap is secured by tokenisation instead of raw card data — safer for crowded tourist spots and overseas travel
- Zero foreign transaction fee mark-ups on pre-converted multi-currency wallet balances, with clears under one second at transit gates and convenience stores
- Available now to all Merchantrade Money Visa Prepaid cardholders in Malaysia via in-app provisioning
Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd has just made tap-to-pay on a phone a reality for Malaysian cardholders, and it has done so without any of the major bank brand names attached. The Petaling Jaya-headquartered money services operator activated Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet support for its Merchantrade Money Visa Prepaid cardholders on 31 July 2026, becoming the first home-grown non-bank e-money issuer in the country to enable dual native NFC tap-to-pay experiences across both platforms.
The rollout signals a substantial upgrade for both the local spend and travel segments Merchantrade has cultivated over the past decade. By digitising its multi-currency Visa prepaid cards directly into smartphone wallets, the brand is delivering a cardless payment experience that works at any standard contactless terminal — from the Klang wet market to the London Underground.
Speed, Security and the Multi-Currency Edge
Native NFC tap-to-pay is built for moments when stopping to dig through a wallet is not an option. According to Merchantrade, every tap clears in under a second at transit gates like Singapore’s MRT and at quick convenience store checkouts. More importantly, the integration is engineered with security at its core. Native NFC capabilities on Merchantrade Money are powered by the Visa Token Service (VTS), which replaces sensitive card details with secure tokens so actual card numbers are never exposed during transactions.
For Samsung Wallet users, hardware-level Knox protection secures taps across both smartphones and wearables. Google Wallet, meanwhile, offers universal checkout flexibility across mobile apps and web platforms. The combination means a Merchantrade Money cardholder can move from a contactless turnstile in Tokyo to a GrabFood in-app checkout in Kuala Lumpur without ever handing over a physical card.
For travellers especially, the foreign exchange maths is the most attractive part. Every tap draws directly from the user’s pre-converted multi-currency wallet, which means no dynamic conversion, no surprise mark-ups and zero foreign transaction fees on the actual tap. That is a meaningful edge for the legions of Malaysian travellers who normally reach for a separate forex card before every trip.
Onboarding and Availability
Merchantrade Money users can now link their cards in minutes using the In-App Provisioning feature directly inside the Merchantrade Money app, or bind their card through either the Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet interfaces. The change is available to all existing Merchantrade Money Visa Prepaid cardholders nationwide. There are no new card requirements and no separate fees for the wallet integration itself.
Our Take
This is a quietly important move for Malaysian fintech. Merchantrade has been operating in the multi-currency prepaid space for years, but the gap between “prepaid card” and “modern mobile payment” has been real — until now. By closing that gap through native NFC rather than a clunky QR workaround, Merchantrade positions itself as the most travel-friendly prepaid option in the country without forcing users to learn a new payment habit.
For Malaysian readers, the practical takeaway is simple. If you already hold a Merchantrade Money Visa Prepaid card, add it to Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet this weekend. If you have been holding out on a multi-currency card specifically because you did not want to carry yet another piece of plastic on your next trip, this is the cleanest reason to reconsider.
Keyword: Merchantrade Money Google Wallet
