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[KUALA LUMPUR] The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) has banks rubbing their hands in anticipation of a cross-border boom, and Malaysia’s largest bank Maybank is no exception.

The bank’s group president and chief executive officer Khairussaleh Ramli said Maybank has recorded a rise of nearly 60 per cent in cross-border transactions – 366,700 in 2024, from 229,900 in the year before.

These transactions were facilitated by the Maybank Overseas Transfer (MOT) platform, enabling real-time fund transfers between Malaysia and Singapore at competitive rates and fees.

The surge in transaction volume highlights the economic zone’s transformative power to boost cross-border transactions, enhance trade flows, and strengthen regional financial ties, driving a surge in transaction volumes, said Khairussaleh in an e-mail interview with The Business Times.

Maybank’s cross-border QR payments have also shown positive growth traction. There have been more than three million transactions totalling RM250 million (S$76 million) since May 2023.