“Alipay, the e-wallet application, also offers opportunities for young people to purchase online,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Global Transformation Forum 2017 here today.

Ma said Prime Minister Najib Razak also supported the idea during a discussion between them yesterday.

“Malaysia should be a cashless society to be more transparent and efficient,” he said, adding that it would not take long to realise it.

Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Bank Bhd yesterday signed a deal to partner China’s Ant Financial Services Group to enable the Alipay mobile wallet in Malaysia.

Maybank and CIMB Bank would act as the settlement and merchant acquirer banks and allow Chinese visitors to pay for their transactions in yuan without concern about exchange rates.