AFFIN Group’s Post

It’s time for collaboration, not always competition ! We believe that collaboration is the best approach to expand a business, especially in areas where we may not have strong presence. Last week we signed an MOU with PERBARINDO (Indonesian Association of Rural Banks) – JABODETABEK to develop the retail lending business. We begin this collaboration with 10 rural banks (BPR) in Jabodetabek area before we implement it to other BPR-rural banks. We understand that BPR as ‘a community bank’ historically have strong presence and strong relationships with their community. This has become their strong value proposition which we can now leverage on. This collaboration with BPRs - PERBARINDO was initiated through Mitra Jasa Lima – an IT platform provider for BPRs. Initiate - Collaborate - Elevate #BankBTPN #RetailLendingBusiness

Malaysia is reviewing all monopolies that currently exist in the system – including Touch ‘n Go, the sole cashless payment system for highway tolls since 1997 – and analysts say this move will go a long way to boost the country’s competitiveness and attract investments. Many motorists, including thousands from Singapore, have complained about the difficulty in buying new Touch 'n Go cards or topping up their existing cards for the past year or so, after Malaysia reopened its borders. Professor Niaz Asadullah from the School of Business at Monash University Malaysia said this "pain and frustration" that motorists are enduring is reason enough to introduce a universal cashless payment system. "The move (to review Touch 'n Go's monopoly) will also help accelerate Malaysia's transition to a cashless economy and make the fintech market more diverse and inclusive," he added. Click to read more. #MonashMalaysia #TouchnGo #CashlessPayment

Previously, 57% of customer payments at DKSH Thailand were conducted via cheques, and this posed various challenges, including delayed cash inflows and increased carbon emissions and pollution. With the Cash Flow is Queen Project, DKSH Thailand successfully shifted customer payment habits from traditional cheque payments to the streamlined and eco-friendly approach of bank transfers. The percentage of cheque payments declined from 57% in 2017 to 11% in 2023. Read more about this transformation: https://okt.to/LeZXYB #DKSHThailand #paymenttransformation #cashflow #successstories #financialinnovation

Duitnow QR charge is one of the hottest topics in town right now. There are some facts I would like to point out. 1) Among National QR in our neighboring countries: Paynow (Singapore), PromptPay(Thailand), QRIS (Indonesia), UPI(India). Malaysia is the lastest to effect such charge and the rate is the one of the lowest among all. Pls see screenshots below for details. 2) Duitnow QR waiver period is announced upfront when it was launched back in 2019. The waiver is supposed to end in Jan’23. It was further extended for 10 months. 3) In their most recent move, BNM/Paynet merely announced the waiver period ended. They did not set the rate but let the market force to decide. 4) Credit card and Debit card charge for Merchants has always been there and still much higher than the proposed Duitnow QR charges Digital payment infrastructure requires ongoing investment to maintain, free forever is apparently not sustainable in the long run. Cash is NOT free either as the underlying handling cost is fairly high. So how we can achieve the digital inclusion agenda while still minimizing micro SME’s burden? Other counties National QR schemes might offer some good learning already: tiering by ticket size, off/on rate differentiation, special rate for certain segments. They are designed in such way probably for a reason. #DuitnowQR #BNM #Paynet