Security Safeguards on e-Payment Systems in Malaysia: Analysis on the Payment Systems Act 2003

By: Sonny Zulhuda

This is an excerpt on my latest paper that was contributed to the International Conference on Legal, Security and Privacy Issues in IT (LSPI) that is currently held in the Catalonian city Barcelona, Spain on 3-5 November 2010.

This paper is an extension from what I wrote in my PhD thesis especially my comment on the Malaysian Payment System Act (PSA) 2003. The focus of the paper is on security-related obligation for the e-payment operators in Malaysia.

The abstract is as follows:

“Central to the infrastructure of electronic commerce activities is the electronic payment system. This encompasses not only the issues of technical sophistication but also legal readiness. In the context of electronic commerce environment in Malaysia, this paper seeks to highlight and examine the Malaysian legal readiness in the aspect of electronic payment system, focusing on its Payment Systems Act 2003.

The discussion is limited to the issue of electronic security measures embodied in the law. Within its restricted scope, this paper seeks to demonstrate how the law recognizes the importance of security measures in order to build confidence and trust among the public and mainly the users of electronic payments in the country. Main obligations relating to the governance and operational requirements are discussed. Offences and penalties for the defaulters are also highlighted.”

Keywords: Security, electronic payment, electronic commerce, Payment Systems Act 2003.