MERCHANTRADE Asia Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s largest money services business operator and a leading player in the digital payments space, has been officially recognised as an approved issuer of a designated payment instrument by the Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia for the purpose of wage payments.
This is in line with the Employment (Recognised Approved Issuer of a Designated Payment Instrument) Order 2024 issued by the Human Resources Ministry.
Recognising the significant challenges employers face in opening traditional bank accounts for migrant workers and other unbanked segments, this solution is set to transform the payroll process for companies by eliminating cash and cheque-based payments while enabling direct salary disbursements into employees’ Merchantrade Money e-wallet.
From large multinationals (MNCs) to small medium enterprises (SMEs), this solution will be a game-changer across various industries, including plantation, manufacturing, construction, service and domestic work.
“Digital wage payments are gaining momentum worldwide and we are proud to be leading this evolution in Malaysia,” commented Merchantrade’s founder and managing director Ramasamy K. Veeran.
As Malaysia’s largest remittance player, Merchantrade has established itself as a trusted brand among the migrant worker community by having recorded an outbound remittance turnover of RM8.15 bil in 2023.
The company has also served over five million customers since its inception through its online and brick-and-mortar channels across its remittance, currency exchange, e-wallet, insurance and telecommunications services.
The Merchantrade Money e-wallet offers a wallet size of up to RM20,000 and comes with a suite of meaningful digital financial features such as remittances, mobile top-ups, micro-insurance, QR (Quick Response) payments and P2P (peer-to-peer) transfers.
Through a collaboration with AmBank Islamic, the integration of Merchantrade Money e-wallet (RM20,000) with an AmBank Islamic Hybrid Current Account-i (RM30,000) allows users to access a combined limit of up to RM50,000, thus making it the first of its kind in Malaysia.
Paired with a Visa prepaid card, users can make cash withdrawals and cashless payments, both at retail outlets and online. The multi-lingual Merchantradenapp is also available in eight languages including English, Malay, Bengali, Indonesian and other migrant-centric languages.
“Expanding into digital wage solutions was a natural progression following our growth in the remittance and e-wallet space while addressing yet another critical pain point for foreign workers and other unbanked segments in Malaysia,” enthused Ramasamy.
“Over the years, we have built a robust ecosystem tailored to the needs of this segment, hence we believe Merchantrade is strategically positioned to facilitate the shift from cash to digital wage payments.”
Complementing its proprietary wage disbursement and e-wallet platforms, the company’s ecosystem includes an extensive network of physical touchpoints with 95 branches and over 490 agent locations nationwide serving as support centres with dedicated on-ground teams that assist both employers and employees in urban and rural areas.
The company’s ‘first-to-last-mile’ approach ensures comprehensive support at every step of their journey, from onboarding and training to after-sales service.
From an ESG (environment, social and governance) perspective, this solution supports Merchantrade’s mission of promoting equitable financial services and is closely aligned with the government’s digital transformation and sustainability agenda as well as Malaysia’s Financial Inclusion Framework FY2023–FY2026. – Aug 6, 2024
