The Malaysian Reserve – MBSB Bank Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PKNS Real Estate Sdn Bhd (PREC) to explore and provide cashless business transactions and empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
PREC CEO Fakru Radzi Ab Ghani said the collaboration is set to begin on March 5, 2023, during its Selangor Ramadan Festival 2023 (Festira’23) which will last for 48 days.
“For starters, the main target of this collaboration is for traders at Festira’23, where they are encouraged to open MBSB Bank accounts and use the digital banking services available in their transaction process,” he said at the MoU signing ceremony today.
During his speech, MBSB Bank CEO Datuk Nor Azam M Talib acknowledged that SMEs are the backbone of the Malaysian economy and they need to ride on the current competitive trend.
“This collaboration will enable the SMEs under PREC to continue to have access to diversified sources of financing to address their needs at various stages of development,” he added.
Business owners from SACC Mall, PKNS complexes, Shah Alam and Bangi will be able to run their business through real-time payment platform such as DuitNowQR, which is available via easy banking online application and e-wallet.
Additionally, MBSB Bank is confident that through cashless transactions that would take place through the collaboration, business owners can keep track of their daily account, consequently they will have access to their credits seamlessly and effectively.
“We aim to provide a comprehensive financing ecosystem by offering diversified funding options, whilst supporting SMEs at all PREC’s locations,” he said.
On the other hand, Fakru Radzi said it took four years for the collaboration to finally happen, mainly due to pandemic challenges but he is optimistic that Festira’23 will regain its momentum as per pre-pandemic.
“Digital banking is becoming vital. We hope that with this collaboration, the SMEs will take the opportunity to accelerate their businesses’ migration from offline to online,” he said.
He was hopeful that micro merchants, especially, will eventually expand their business to become export-ready.
“To date, almost 1,000 merchants will participate in Festira’23 and we are expecting 2.5 million visitors,” he said.
As of today, he remarked that 50% of the merchants have opened MBSB Bank accounts and he is positive that there will be 100% participation from all merchants within the next two or three weeks.
Image by: MBSB Bank
