AGENSI Kaunselling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) or the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency which clocks 15 years of existence today has helped near 1.2 million individuals through financial advisory (FA), of which more than 330,000 have participated in debt management programme (DMP).
In a nutshell, FA provides personal advice on managing finances wisely – from budgeting and money management to credit related issues – while DMP provides personalised debt repayment plan in consultation with financial service providers.
Nearly 34,000 of those participated in DMP have graduated, settling a total outstanding amount of more than RM1.5 bil.
On the preventive side, near seven million Malaysians had benefitted from AKPK’s various financial education interventions since its establishment in 2006.
“Our mission is to empower the community – households and small medium enterprises (SMEs) – to be financially resilient via customer-centric financial education, advisory and debt management services,” commented CEO Azaddin Ngah Tasir.
“For this mission, we have set a vision for ourselves to be a trusted and leading authority in financial wellness, empowering a financially resilient society and contributing to national socio-economic goals.”
As AKPK turns 15, it is no longer business as usual for the wholly-owned agency of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Beginning late 2020, AKPK has been vested with a new mandate to serve businesses, specifically the SMEs. As such, AKPK is set to be a powerhouse in financial management solutions for both households and SMEs, including micro businesses in the country.
This began with the extension of DMP to sole proprietors, followed by the transfer of the Small Debt Resolution Scheme (SDRS) function from BNM to AKPK.
SDRS is a redress avenue for SMEs to obtain repayment assistance, complementing the efforts of the banking industry to provide relief to distressed SMEs.
This is done through the facilitation of debt repayment arrangement for the SMEs with the bank(s) in an amicable and collective manner without resorting to legal recourse.
In addition, AKPK also launched its Micro Enterprise Help Desk that provides advisory and facilitates repayment assistance for microenterprises with their banks.
At this time, the public can get in touch with AKPK via its services link, https://services.akpk.org.my for enquiries or assistance, or visit its website at https://www.akpk.org.my for more information. – April 16, 2021
