Merchantrade Partnership with Bonuslink

PRESS RELEASE

23 August 2017

MERCHANTRADE TO ESCALATE FINTECH SERVICES GROWTH WITH BONUSLINK PARTNERSHIP

KUALA LUMPUR: Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd (Merchantrade), a leading home-grown money services business (MSB) provider with the largest agent network in Malaysia is set to accelerate its FinTech services growth following the agreement signed with BonusKad Loyalty Sdn Bhd (BonusLink), Malaysia’s premier loyalty company held today at JW Marriot, Kuala Lumpur.

Merchantrade will provide eRemit, a money transfer services, as well as eForex, an online foreign exchange currency to BonusLink eight million card members nationwide.

The partnership is expected to drive Merchantrade’s growth further with RM1billion eRemit transaction alone by 2018.

In a statement made during the signing ceremony, Founder and Managing Director of Merchantrade, Ramasamy K Veeran, said, “We are excited with the tremendous growth opportunities derived from this partnership which aimed at accelerating our Fintech services growth faster. Besides retaining the loyalty of our customers by providing them quality products and value added services, this partnership will further reinforce Merchantrade’s leadership position in the MSB industry. In this current world of evolving marketplace, what more with the rapid technological advancement and unprecedented array of challenges, it only makes more business sense for Merchantrade to share the economy with existing strong brands such as BonusLink”.

”In 2016, the eRemit platform had recorded RM650 million in transactions and the amount is expected to reach RM800 million this year whilst the eForex projected growth would be 140% by end of 2017,” said Ramasamy.

The partnership is believed to see positive growth for both companies in terms of business especially with the rise of smartphones, digital devices and easy internet access.

According to Malaysia’s Department of Statistics, the average Malaysian spends more than five hours a day on the internet which can be attributed to the country’s high broadband and mobile penetrations which currently stand at 72.2% and 144.8% respectively.

“The digital revolution has transformed the way customers access financial products and services and Merchantrade is always ahead of the curve in the FinTech ecosystem. Through this strategic partnership, both Merchantrade and BonusLink will leverage on each other’s strengths such as cross marketing initiatives and promotional activities to bring more benefits to the customers,” he added.

Victor Goon, General Manager of BonusLink added “We are pleased to announce our partnership with a brand that has gained much success in the Malaysian market and like us, share a passion for delivering great customer experience. We are truly confident that Merchantrade’s significant expertise in the money services business industry will bring added value to our 8 million members nationwide especially to frequent travellers and those sending money abroad. BonusLink Members will be able to collect Points when they perform eForex and e-remit transactions online. We are optimistic that this collaboration will boost both our bands in the Malaysian market.

In conjunction with the new partnership launch, BonusLink members can now collect 2X BonusLink Points from 23^rd August to 30^th September 2017 on eForex for currency purchases and eRemit, for money transaction overseas.

Merchantrade’s eForex and eRemit services are already available on the internet and they can also be accessed via downloadable apps on both Android and iOS platforms.

Currently the eRemit services is offered to individuals and will soon be offered to BonusLink’s B2B customers, in the near future. The key advantage of eRemit services to SMEs and other businesses is that they can conduct business transaction beyond banking hours in addition to collecting points.

BonusLink members will be awarded 50 points for each successful transaction amounting from RM500 to RM1000, and 150 points for each successful transaction amounting of RM1001 and above. As for eRemit, members will receive 150 points for every successful transaction regardless of the amount of transaction they make.

“We are gaining significant ground in this digital revolution, disrupting the traditional way of doing business. We believe collaboration and shared economy is one of the significant disruptors to push our growth to the next level.

“With our FinTech services gaining significant momentum, we are now looking at how we could co-operate with other brands, rather than competing directly. The company aims to be a leading payment gateway in the near future while growing its brand as a regional player,” said Ramasamy.

The agreement was signed between Ramasamy K Veeran, and Victor Goon, of BonusKad Loyalty Sdn Bhd.

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