Brunei

Brunei University student Feisa recently bought a bag of cat food at a pet shop in the city centre. Instead of using cash as before, she took out her mobile phone and used a software called NEXGEN to scan the QR code on the counter to complete the payment.

    "It has long been heard that mobile payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat are very popular in China, and now Brunei finally has its own mobile payment channel." Feisa told Xinhua News Agency reporters.

    The NEXGEN used by Fisa is a mobile payment software developed by Brunei Islamic Bank, the largest local bank in Brunei. Since its launch in May 2018, the software has quickly gained a foothold in Brunei's commercial and consumer payment fields.

    "What I miss most after returning to Brunei is the convenience of online shopping and mobile payment in China. Now Brunei finally has similar payment methods." Chen Fangting, a teacher of Brunei Zhonghua Middle School who had studied in China for many years, said excitedly.

    According to the report issued by the Islamic Bank of Brunei, mobile payment can greatly improve the convenience of the payment link, reduce business operating costs, provide more convenience to consumers, and improve the efficiency of the national economy. Brunei Islamic Bank is cooperating with more merchants to expand its mobile payment network layout.

    "Under the NEXGEN platform, Brunei Islamic Bank has launched a variety of electronic payment methods such as QR code payment, electronic wallets, virtual bank cards," said Akema, head of consumer banking at Brunei Islamic Bank. "Future mobile payments are expected The channel will achieve an annual transaction volume of 3 billion yuan (approximately 2.2 billion U.S. dollars)."

    The Central Bank of Brunei also recently announced the Brunei electronic payment roadmap, which will actively promote the transformation of domestic payment methods to electronic payment, and plans to build a cashless society by 2025.