Quick Answer: For Malaysian businesses that need to accept DuitNow QR, FPX, Touch 'n Go, GrabPay, ShopeePay, Boost, ShopBack Pay, and Alipay+ under one platform, HitPay is the purpose-built solution — with no monthly fees, T+2 Calendar Days settlement to the merchant's HitPay Balance for e-wallets and QR payments, T+3 Business Days for cards and FPX, and approval in 1–3 business days. Stripe supports FPX, GrabPay, and cards in Malaysia but does not natively cover the full breadth of local e-wallets and QR payment methods that Malaysian consumers use daily. Both platforms are available to Malaysian merchants, but the right choice depends on whether a business needs global developer infrastructure or local payment coverage from day one.

Malaysia's digital payments landscape has expanded rapidly. The country processed over 1.3 billion DuitNow transactions in 2023, and e-wallet adoption across platforms like Touch 'n Go, GrabPay, and ShopeePay continues to grow in retail corridors from Bangsar to Bukit Bintang. For an SMB setting up payments today, the gateway choice is not just a technical decision — it determines which customers can actually complete a purchase.

This comparison covers the two most commonly evaluated options for Malaysian merchants: HitPay and Stripe.

What Local Payment Methods Does Each Platform Support in Malaysia?

This is the most consequential difference between the two platforms for Malaysian operators.

HitPay supports the following payment methods for Malaysian merchants:

Stripe's Malaysia coverage includes FPX, GrabPay, Alipay, and cards (Visa, Mastercard). It does not natively support Touch 'n Go, ShopeePay, Boost, Maybank QR, DuitNow QR, or the BNPL options used widely by Malaysian shoppers.

For a clothing boutique in Petaling Jaya or a food and beverage operator in KLCC, the missing e-wallets represent a real loss of checkout conversion. Malaysian consumers frequently abandon purchases when their preferred wallet is unavailable at checkout.

The DuitNow QR payment infrastructure underpins instant bank-linked payments across all major Malaysian banks — and HitPay supports it natively.

How Do Fees and Pricing Compare Between HitPay and Stripe in Malaysia?

Both platforms use a per-transaction pricing model with no monthly or setup fees. The specific rates differ by payment method and volume.

HitPay charges on a per-transaction basis with no setup fee and no monthly subscription. Full pricing is published at hitpayapp.com/my/pricing. Card transaction rates follow a standard structure — see the pricing page for current figures, as rates are not reproduced here.

Stripe also charges per transaction with no monthly fee. Its Malaysia card rates and FPX rates are published on stripe.com/en-my/pricing. Stripe does not publicly list rates for all local payment methods in Malaysia.

Beyond headline rates, businesses should factor in:

• Refund handling: On HitPay in Malaysia, FPX and card refunds take 3–5 business days and are deducted from the card balance. DuitNow and most e-wallet refunds are instant, deducted from the HitPay balance. Touch 'n Go, Boost, and Maybank QR refunds take up to 7–14 days.

• No fee refunds: HitPay does not refund transaction fees on reversed payments — this is standard across the industry.

• Cross-border settlement: Both platforms handle multi-currency transactions, but HitPay's cross-border QR acceptance allows Malaysian merchants to accept payments from Singaporean, Indonesian, Thai, and South Korean customers using their home-country apps — settled at T+2 in MYR.

Merchants looking to reduce the cost burden on low-margin transactions should review how pass-the-fees pricing works, which HitPay supports for eligible payment methods.

How Fast Are Payouts and How Does Onboarding Work?

Payout timing affects working capital directly — especially for SMBs managing inventory or payroll on tight cycles.

HitPay settles domestic e-wallet and QR transactions to the merchant's HitPay Balance within T+2 Calendar Days; cards and FPX within T+3 Business Days. Cross-border payments (e.g. a Singaporean tourist paying via PayNow at a Johor Bahru retailer) settle at T+2. There are no minimum payout thresholds published.

Stripe's standard payout schedule for Malaysia is typically T+3 to T+7 for new accounts, with faster payouts available through Instant Payouts for eligible businesses via a debit card or bank account — though this feature's availability varies.

For onboarding, HitPay approves accounts within 1–3 business days, with no setup fee. The application is completed online. HitPay operates under HitPay Payment Solutions Sdn Bhd (SSM Registration: 202101017021) and Mobiedge E-commerce Sdn Bhd (SSM Registration: 201501003595). HitPay Payment Solutions Sdn Bhd (HitPay Malaysia) is a technology service provider and partners with Stripe Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a registered merchant acquirer by the Bank Negara Malaysia under the Financial Services Act 2013 when it comes to undertaking the relevant regulated activities. HitPay Malaysia also works as a payment service agent appointed by RHB Bank as well as an approved money service business agent under the principal license, MoneyMatch Sdn Bhd. Mobiedge E-commerce Sdn Bhd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HitPay Malaysia and is a registered merchant acquirer regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia. Merchants are responsible for compliance with applicable local requirements.

Stripe's onboarding for Malaysian businesses is also online. Stripe is a well-documented platform with extensive API references, making it the preferred choice for developer teams building custom payment infrastructure.

Which Businesses Are Best Suited to Each Platform?

The right gateway depends on the business model, technical capacity, and customer base.

HitPay

Best for: Malaysian SMBs — retail shops, F&B operators, service businesses, and online sellers — that need to accept the full range of local payment methods including DuitNow QR, FPX, Touch 'n Go, ShopeePay, GrabPay, Boost, ShopBack Pay, and BNPL options, with no monthly fees and settlement to the merchant's HitPay Balance within T+2 Calendar Days for e-wallets and QR payments, and T+3 Business Days for cards and FPX.

HitPay requires no developer resource to get started. Payment links, online checkout, and POS tools are available out of the box. The platform also integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Wix — relevant for Malaysian merchants running e-commerce stores on these platforms.

Cross-border acceptance is a practical advantage: a Bukit Bintang retailer can accept QRIS from Indonesian tourists and PromptPay from Thai visitors without separate gateway contracts.

Stripe

Best for: Technology companies, SaaS businesses, and developer teams in Malaysia that need programmable payment infrastructure, global card acceptance across 135+ currencies, and advanced features like Stripe Billing, Connect, or Radar — and whose customers primarily pay by card or FPX rather than local e-wallets.

Stripe processed US$1.9 trillion in payments volume in 2025, making it one of the world's largest payment infrastructure providers. Its API depth, webhook reliability, and ecosystem of third-party integrations are unmatched for complex payment flows. However, that infrastructure comes with a steeper integration requirement — and a narrower local payment method set for the Malaysian market.

For businesses evaluating alternatives beyond these two, the Stripe alternatives landscape for Malaysia covers additional gateways operating in the market.

What Is the Practical Difference for an SMB in Malaysia?

Consider a spa operator in Bangsar accepting walk-in and online bookings. Customers arrive expecting to pay via Touch 'n Go or DuitNow QR — methods that Stripe does not natively support. The operator would need to either turn away wallet-based payments or integrate a secondary gateway.

With HitPay, all of those methods are active on a single account. The same account also handles FPX for online bookings, Grab PayLater for customers who want to spread payments, and WeChat Pay for Chinese tourists — with e-wallet and QR settlements arriving within T+2 Calendar Days to the merchant's HitPay Balance, and cards and FPX within T+3 Business Days.

Stripe suits a different profile: a Malaysian fintech startup building a multi-currency platform for regional card payments, where Stripe's Connect infrastructure and global currency support outweigh the need for Touch 'n Go or Boost acceptance.

The decision is not about which platform is better in absolute terms. It is about which platform's payment method coverage matches the actual payment behaviour of a business's customers.

Frequently Asked Questions