PERTAMA Digital Bhd (previously Sinotop Holdings Bhd), an investment holding company in the government technology and fintech sphere, is currently in advanced joint venture talks to pursue the license from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
The application deadline is June 30. Pertama Digital is the holding company of DAPAT Vista (M) Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian company that specialises in digitalisation of government services.
It provides solutions in mobile and web apps; mobile payment and messaging; business empowerment APIs (application programming interfaces), and other customised digital services.
DAPAT also operates the government SMS gateway called mySMS and owns the MyPay and eJamin apps.
“We are aligned with the financial inclusion emphasis in the licensing framework for digital banks published by BNM in December 2020,” commented Pertama Digital’s director of strategy Saify Akhtar.
“We have been hard at work coordinating capital, talent, technology and a captive market and are proud to announce that we have a uniquely sustainable banking model that exceeds the requirements laid out in the framework.”
Having started the digital court bail solution, eJamin, in early 2020, Pertama Digital now has valuable knowhow in the space of including underserved communities, both digitally and financially.
“eJamin was designed after detailed consultations with the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, court personnel across the country, banks and members of the public who have paid bail,” recalled Saify.
Thanks to an innovation culture at the courts and rapidly increasing adoption of digital services across Malaysia, eJamin was implemented across all criminal courts in Malaysia six months ahead of schedule by mid-2020.
Following approval by Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), Pertama Digital recently announced the increase of daily transfer limits between banks to RM500,000 from the usual RM30,000 to meet demands of the legal system which continues to operate robustly during the pandemic.
PayNet is the national payments network and shared central infrastructure for Malaysia’s financial markets with BNM as the single largest shareholder.
At the close of today’s morning session, Pertama Digital was unchanged at 39 sen with 311,600 shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM169 mil. – April 23, 2021
