TNG eWallet is no longer just a payment app and the numbers prove it
- TNG eWallet aims to redefine what Malaysia’s digital wallet.
- Con 26 million users see the toll-paying app as something more?
TNG eWallet, operated by TNG Digital, has turned profitable for the first time in its eight-year history, posting a profit after tax of RM103.23 million for FY2025 with a 71.7% revenue jump to RM707.28 million. And for the first time since the company’s inception, more than half of its total revenue now comes from business outside of payments.
Malaysians have quietly started using TNG eWallet for things that have nothing to do with paying at a toll booth. “TNG eWallet is not a payment app,” said Alan Ni, chief executive officer of TNG Digital, at the company’s media briefing 2026 in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. “Malaysians are using us to manage different parts of their everyday lives, from growing their money and travelling overseas to paying bills and earning rewards.”
The financial services arm, cross-border transactions, B2B merchant solutions, and advertising revenue are all pulling weight. Cross-border and international services alone now contribute 10% of total revenue, up from virtually nothing a few years ago, and TNG Digital says it is approaching RM1 billion in monthly transaction payment volume on that front alone.
The B2B segment, covering advertising, merchant value-added services, and digital infrastructure, adds another 6%. One recent example puts the execution question to rest, which the company is proud of.
The Budi95 government fuel subsidy programme required simultaneous integration of 11 petrol companies, more than 4,000 stations, real-time verification of Malaysian citizenship and driving licence status, quota computation per transaction, and split-payment settlement between users and the Ministry of Finance. Alan said TNG Digital built it end-to-end in just six months.
“Behind is not ANT technology,” Alan said. “It is Malaysian technology, Malaysian people, 100%.” It matters because TNG Digital began its life in 2017 on technology heavily influenced by Ant Financial, its 34.62% shareholder. Eight years later, Alan says the platform stands alone.
What’s changed
The product announcement at today’s briefing was a homepage redesign, but Alan’s framing of it was more interesting than the redesign itself. He compared where apps are headed to the death of Yahoo’s directory-style web navigation. “Remember Yahoo? When you go to the website, you have 200 links everywhere by category. Google wiped that out with a search bar. I think one day you don’t even need to search, you press a button, you just talk, and AI behind the scenes will bring up what you need.”
That is the trajectory TNG eWallet is building towards. The new homepage is built around a search-first experience, surfacing results even through fuzzy input. Four hubs anchor the quick-access section: GOfinance for financial services, Near Me for food and beverage deals, Bills for utilities and recurring payments, and Transport for commuting and travel.
The bottom navigation bar has been reworked for one-handed use, a deliberate call, Chiew Wei Wing, chief product and growth officer, noted, given that most users engage with the app on the move. Alan was candid that every search entered by users is also feeding the product roadmap.
“Rather than locking ourselves in a room and guessing what you want, you are telling us. That is our roadmap.” The app currently serves 26 million verified users, with 13.5 million active monthly users and an average engagement of twice daily.
The partnership model’s limits
One exchange at the briefing gave a clearer picture of TNG Digital’s ecosystem strategy than anything in the press release. When a journalist raised the point that core services like loans and trading only show one or two partner options, Alan pushed back – partly. “For loans, it’s already two: CIMB and Alliance Bank. More will be added.” He acknowledged the direction: no exclusivity, an open ecosystem where even competing products are welcome.
The China e-commerce parallel he drew was telling; Alibaba’s Taobao allows Pinduoduo listings, a direct competitor. “That is okay,” he said. “We want to be the ecosystem housing the best services.” But he was also honest about the limits. Shopee does not accept TNG eWallet. Grab accepts Kakao Pay from Korea but not Touch ‘n Go.
“You think that’s because we don’t want to?” And when asked directly whether CIMB’s 45.01% ownership stake gives other banks pause about partnering, the answer was straightforward: “It will definitely give some hesitation. But you notice Alliance Bank moved. My hands are open.”
Chiew added the operational reality behind the thin partner count: “It depends on who comes up fastest to do the full integration. We do not want to just house another icon. We want tight integration, and that requires the partner to follow through the entire experience.”
Cross-border as the growing story
Cross-border QR transactions grew 82% year-on-year between 2024 and 2025. The TNG eWallet Visa Travel Card has seen overseas spend grow 2.5 times year-on-year as of late 2025.
When asked which markets are leading this, Alan did not hedge. China dominates QR use – the card acceptance infrastructure there makes QR a necessity. But in Singapore, Thailand, and Japan, the picture shifts, with the Visa Travel Card often pulling ahead of QR.
The underlying rails are Ant Financial’s cross-border payment network, which TNG Digital has become one of the biggest volume contributors globally. Chiew confirmed that Ant is now actively working through the pain points TNG raises, including expanding beyond payment QR into ride-hailing and food delivery via the same cross-border code. “I can only say: stay tuned.”
Banking licence, Apple Pay, and the questions that linger
TNG Digital does not hold a digital banking licence. Alan’s answer on whether that change was characteristically measured: “never say never”, but the open finance framework that Bank Negara Malaysia is developing may matter more. If financial data is shared in institutions by regulation, regardless, the distinction between holding a licence and partnering with banks begins to blur.
“I cannot predict five years down the road. But I think open finance might open that gate.”
On Apple Pay – which TNG eWallet does not support – the explanation was among the more illuminating of the afternoon. Malaysia has the lowest merchant discount rates (MDR) in Southeast Asia. Apple Pay’s commercial terms, applied to TNG’s transaction volumes, would result in losses on every single payment.
“That would probably bankrupt us.” The answer, Alan said, is Blue Tab – TNG’s NFC tap-to-pay feature, now live at around 15,000 merchants, which works in both iPhone and Android regardless of the card linked. It’s early, but it is the intended long-run answer.
The perception challenge is the one Alan keeps returning to. Twenty-six million users, twice daily engagement, first-ever profit, and a revenue mix that has quietly flipped, yet the dominant mental image of TNG eWallet for many Malaysians is still the toll lane. “Changing people’s perception,” he said, “is a very, very hard task.” The numbers are doing their part. The harder work is getting people to look at them.
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