As Malaysia prepares to welcome Formula 1 back to the Sepang International Circuit, local businesses face a crucial operational question: Are payment infrastructures robust enough to convert peak footfall into guaranteed revenue?
The return of the world’s premier motorsport event is slated to trigger a surge in tourist spending across hotels, retailers, restaurants, and local community events like the Sepang Carnival. However, industry insights from payment platform Adyen highlight that operational bottlenecks—particularly at payment touchpoints—could threaten merchant profitability during high-volume periods.
According to findings from the Adyen Retail Index 2026 Malaysia, standard payment friction remains a widespread challenge for local merchants:
- Revenue Impact: 97% of local merchants reported business impacts caused by payment performance issues over the past year. This includes 31% reporting abandoned online checkouts and 30% experiencing lost sales due to failed or slow transactions.
- In-Store Queue Abandonment: 25% of merchants reported that customers walked away from in-store queues due to payment delays.
- Consumer Perception: 59% of Malaysian consumers stated that payment errors negatively alter their perception of a brand, with 26% abandoning purchases entirely and 15% switching to competitors.
In fast-paced, high-density environments like race weekend merchandise booths, temporary food vendors, and hospitality lounges, such payment friction can lead to lost revenue.
To capitalise on concentrated spending windows during major events, Adyen advises businesses to focus on three core operational pillars:
- Expanding Mobile Checkout Capacity: Deploying mobile payment terminals allows staff to take payments anywhere on the shop floor or event venue, breaking reliance on fixed counters and reducing long queues. Adyen noted that 17% of local consumers have already used mobile terminals while queuing, reflecting strong consumer familiarity with flexible checkout methods.
- Supporting Regional & International Payment Options: With F1 attracting international visitors, offering globally recognized payment methods and digital wallets reduces friction for foreign tourists.
- Building Infrastructure Resilience: Ensuring payment systems can withstand periods of exceptionally high transaction volumes prevents system downtime during peak trading hours.
Commenting on the operational demands of large-scale events, Soon Yean Lee, Country Manager for Adyen Malaysia, emphasised that seamless payment flows are essential to capturing event-driven demand:
