Merchantrade & AmBank Launch Malaysia’s First Hybrid eWallet


(From left) Cheong Sook Fun, Chief Financial Officer, Merchantrade Asia, Khairuan Abdul Rahman, Director, Retail Payments Services, PayNet, Ramasamy K Veeran, Managing Director & Founder, Merchantrade Asia, Raja Teh Maimunah Binti Raja Abdul Aziz, Managing Director, Wholesale Banking, AmBank Group, Dato’ Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, Group Chief Executive Officer, AmBank Group, Eqhwan Mokhzanee bin Muhammad, Chief Executive Officer, AmBank Islamic

Monday, 03 October 2022 - Following the announcement made in February 2021, Merchantrade and AmBank have launched Hybrid eWallet, the first-of-its-kind where the Merchantrade Money eWallet integrates seamlessly with an AmBank Islamic Hybrid Current Account-i (hCA-i) allowing the eWallet user to enjoy the benefits of an Islamic current account with a total combined limit of RM50,000.

This initiative between Merchantrade and AmBank is also supported by DuitNow which runs on the Real-time Retail Payments Platform (RPP) a platform established by Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet). RPP has contributed to the growth and development of e-Payments innovation in Malaysia, bringing the country closer towards having a vibrant digital ecosystem.

“We are very happy to partner and collaborate with AmBank to develop this innovative product. The combined limit of RM50,000 and the ability of the Hybrid eWallet to allow users to also earn profit from the AmBank Islamic (hCA-i) –making it unique and a game-changer for the industry. Hybrid eWallet will be the largest eWallet in the market, enhancing user experience and providing new levels of convenience for online, cross-border and multi-currency payments. Parents with children studying abroad can easily make payments for their children’s tuition/education fees, or travellers using our multi-currency wallet can enjoy a large enough wallet to store their digital currencies,” said Ramasamy K. Veeran, MD and founder of Merchantrade Asia.

Ramasamy added, “It opens up exciting opportunities for us by giving greater flexibility and innovation in our solutions to both our retail and business customers, and more especially towards addressing the needs of the underserved and unserved segments.”

“By embarking on this strategic partnership with Merchantrade, we have developed this first-in-the-market cross-border, multi-currency payment solutions; scaling up our suite of innovative digital offerings for our valued customers. With an understanding of the current market and the fast-paced environment we operate in today, this cutting-edge technology will give us the competitive edge in a fast-paced highly evolving digital driven banking industry,” said the Group Chief Executive officer of AmBank Group, Dato’ Sulaiman Mohd Tahir.

The Managing Director of Wholesale Banking for AmBank Group, Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz further said that “in line with Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) endeavour to promote the fintech agenda, the bank will continue to support the merging and transformation of the financial and technology sectors.”

“The collaboration with Merchantrade is a strategic fit which is aligned with AmBank’s fintech aspirations with the Hybrid eWallet being a flagship offering for our customers. It will enable customers to open a hCA-i with AmBank Islamic seamlessly from the eWallet, enjoying the larger eWallet size and the versatility to transact or remit funds globally while reaping in the benefits of the Hybrid eWallet, the flexibility to move money between eWallet and hCA-i easily, and withdrawing funds anytime.”

“The launch of this Hybrid eWallet marks Merchantrade’s commitment towards developing a comprehensive end-to-end ecosystem and its ‘digital first’ approach, which prioritises innovation and solutions that promote inclusion and accessibility,” added Ramasamy.​​

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