The Real E-Wallet War: The TnG eWallet Dilemma (And Its “Hidden” Rival)

In our main fintech report, The 3-Way Race for the Malaysian Wallet, we uncovered a surprising insight: E-Wallets are the most negatively perceived financial category in Malaysia.

We wanted to know why. At first glance, the battle seems to be between the “Big 3”: TnG eWallet, GrabPay, and ShopeePay. But any Malaysian knows there’s an 800-pound gorilla in the room… Maybank’s MAE.

MAE has blurred the lines between a traditional bank app and a daily e-wallet. So, what happens when we analyze the E-Wallet war correctly?

We used Mediapod to analyze 727 public mentions over the past 12 months (Nov 2024 – Oct 2025) from Google News and Reddit. The data reveals a powerful story about the “Big Two” and the massive problem they share.

Part 1: The “Share of Voice” (Who Really Dominates?)

When we look at just the standalone e-wallet brands, the story is a landslide.

Touch ‘n Go (TnG) eWallet is the undisputed king of the dedicated e-wallet conversation with 143 mentions. This is almost 14 times more than its next competitor, GrabPay (10 mentions), and makes up almost 90% of the entire e-wallet discussion.

But this is a misleading picture. Where is MAE?

In our data, mentions of “MAE” and “Maybank” are grouped under the “TradFi” (Traditional Bank) category, which has a massive 437 mentions. A huge portion of these are users talking about MAE as their primary daily e-wallet, discussing QR payments, transfers, and app performance.

The Insight: The real daily payments war is a two-giant race between TnG eWallet and Maybank’s MAE.

Part 2: The “Sentiment Story” (The Shared Frustration)

This is where the story gets fascinating. When we compare the sentiment of the two dominant categories, we see they have the exact same problem.

Both of the main players are being dragged down by public frustration. While their overall scores aren’t in freefall, the data shows they are far from “loved.” In fact, the only major player with a net-positive sentiment is the smallest one: GrabPay (+0.06).

Part 3: The “Why”: An Identical Tale of Woe

So, why are the two giants struggling? We dug into the topics driving the negative conversation, and the results are almost identical.

• Top Negative Topics for TradFi (MAE):
  1. App Performance (54 mentions)
  2. Fees & Charges (47 mentions)
• Top Negative Topics for E-Wallets (TnG):
  1. App Performance (11 mentions)
  2. Fees & Charges (11 mentions)

The story is crystal clear. The public sees TnG eWallet and Maybank MAE as essential utilities for daily life, but they are a constant source of frustration due to app downtime, unreliability, and high or confusing fees.

Conclusion: The “Utility vs. Likability” Trap

Both TnG and MAE have successfully made themselves essential. But in doing so, they have become a source of daily friction, not a source of delight. They are trapped in the “utility” box.

This creates a good opportunity for a competitor. The data shows that a brand that can solve these two core problems—app reliability and fair, transparent fees—could potentially steal market share. This is the exact playbook the new Digital Banks (who have a neutral sentiment) are trying to run, and why a “liked” brand like GrabPay is still in the game.

The winners of the next phase of the e-wallet war won’t be the ones who are just essential; they’ll be the ones who are also reliable and respected.