KUALA LUMPUR, 9 October 2020: To help its food court vendors compete in an increasingly digital market space, Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has now enabled e-wallet payments across all its food courts.

Though Tesco is best-known as a rakyat-friendly retailer offering great value at affordable prices, it is also one of the country’s largest food court operators. As of September 2020, Tesco is operating 56 food courts out of 62 stores, nationwide.

According to the Mastercard Impact Studies published in June this year, the Covid-19 outbreak has accelerated the rapid adoption of e-commerce, digital payments, and preference for online activities. The report noted that Malaysia’s e-wallet penetration of 40 per cent is highest in Southeast Asia, with e-wallet being the preferred payment option for those aged below 35.

“It is no secret that we at Tesco has long been a supporter of local products and suppliers, and this support is reflected in over 600 local suppliers that are already supplying thousands of products to our network of 62 stores across the country. Our support is also extended to all 236 food and beverages (F&B) vendors in our food courts that are serving crowd favourite meals such as nasi lemak and char kuey teow to the more unique ones such as trendy seafood ‘shellout’ style in Tesco Teluk Intan,” said Tesco Chief Operating Officer, Sushmita Paul.

“We are excited to now offer e-wallet payments in our food courts because not only will this enable our F&B vendors to compete in an increasingly digital-centric market space, it will also ensure added safety for our customers as they can minimize contact by going cashless. On top of that, Tesco is also supporting the government’s goal in making Malaysia a cashless society,” she said.

Two of Tesco’s longest operating F&B tenants, Galaxy Recipe and Kadir Pasembor represent the vendors that are looking forward to the integration of e-wallets into their businesses.

Galaxy Recipe was one of the first F&B tenant to join Tesco the year it was established, back in 2002. Galaxy Recipe now operates out of nine Tesco food courts, serving over 40,000 meals a month.

“Younger people these days are keener towards digital payments, rather than cash. We believe that through Tesco’s initiative, it will be a great opportunity to enlarge our customer base,” said Galaxy Recipe founder, Yong Jeng Yih. “Security-wise, it is also significantly safer to use digital payments rather than cash as this reduces the risk of cashier errors.”

Kadir Pasembor meanwhile, became a Tesco food court tenant in 2007 and has branched out to 22 Tesco food courts since then.

“Having the e-wallet integration into our business will not only be helpful for security and hygiene reasons because of the Covid-19 pandemic but is also beneficial in keeping our operations lean and focused,” said founder and sole owner, Tawfik Ahmad Jafarullah Khan.

 “This e-wallet integration into Tesco’s food courts is one of the many ways that Tesco continues to help its tenants which include training, encouragements as well as frequent knowledge sharing sessions.”

In helping customers to eat well, live well and pay less while coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, Tesco is also introducing meals with starting prices from as low as RM5.00.

“As a retailer, one of our biggest focus is to help our customers manage their everyday cost of living, and this is also extended to our food courts. We know that our customers are concerned about their spending, but that does not mean that they can’t eat well. With our meals starting from as low as RM5.00, a family can dine out without breaking the bank,” said Sushmita.

Tesco’s food courts now accept payments from six different digital providers namely Boost, GrabPay, kiplePay, Touch n Go, MCash, AliPay as well as Maybank QRPay, on top of the more traditional mode of payments such as cash, debit, and credit cards.

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