KUALA LUMPUR: The Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia has approved Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd as an approved issuer of a designated payment instrument for wage payments.
This aligns with the Employment (Recognised Approved Issuer of a Designated Payment Instrument) Order 2024 issued by the Ministry of Human Resources.
This solution is set to transform companies’ payroll processes by eliminating cash and cheque-based payments and enabling direct salary disbursements into employees’ Merchantrade Money e-wallets.
It also aims to recognise the significant challenges employers face in opening traditional bank accounts for migrant workers and other unbanked segments.
The Merchantrade Money e-wallet offers a wallet size of up to RM20k. It has digital financial features such as remittances, mobile top-ups, micro-insurance, QR payments, and peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers.
Through a collaboration with AmBank Islamic, the integration of the Merchantrade Money e-wallet (RM20k) with an AmBank Islamic Hybrid Current Account-i (hCA-i) (RM30K) allows users to access a combined limit of up to RM50,000, making it the first of its kind in Malaysia.
Paired with a Visa prepaid card, users can make cash withdrawals and cashless payments at retail outlets and online. The multilingual app is also available in 8 languages, including English, Malay, Bengali, Indonesian, and other migrant-centric languages.
“Digital wage payments are gaining momentum worldwide, and we are proud to be leading this evolution in Malaysia,“ said Merchantrade Asia founder and managing director Ramasamy K Veeran.
Merchantrade Asia is Malaysia’s largest money services business (MSB) operator in terms of the number of branches and a leading player in the digital payments space.
From large multinational corporations (MNCs) to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this solution will serve various industries, including plantation, manufacturing, construction, service, and domestic work.
As Malaysia’s largest remittance player, Merchantrade Asia has established itself as a trusted brand among the migrant worker community. In 2023, its outbound remittance turnover was RM8.15 billion.
Since its inception, the company has served over 5 million customers through its online and brick-and-mortar channels for remittance, currency exchange, e-wallet, insurance, and telecommunications services.
“Expanding into digital wage solutions was a natural progression following our growth in the remittance and e-wallet space. It addresses yet another critical pain point for foreign workers and other unbanked segments in Malaysia.
“Over the years, we have built a robust ecosystem tailored to the needs of this segment. Thus, we believe Merchantrade Asia is strategically positioned to facilitate the shift from cash to digital wage payments,“ Ramasamy said.
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.
