Ethical finance and Takatech are the focus of Pertama Digital’s digital bank ambition, and the public listed firm has formed partnerships with four entities to drive these verticals.
Pertama Digital’s new product partners are peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing marketplace Trevo, digital finance provider Paywatch, insurtech start-up Qoala and edtech provider Butterfly FX. These partnerships are designed to assist Pertama Digital in bringing to market ethical financial solutions covering insurtech (Takaful specifically), the gig economy and edtech.
“We are very excited to collaborate with our new product partners to build financially inclusive solutions for the Rakyat. Over the years, we gained valuable experience and insights from delivering digital financial services to the financially underserved via MyPay and eJamin,” Pertama Digital’s director of strategy, Saify Akhtar, shared.
Established in 1984, Pertama Digital – formerly known as Sinotop Holdings – works closely with government agencies on technology initiatives including mobile payment app MyPay, online payment service eJamin and SMS application MySMS. This year, Pertama Digital revealed that it has joined hands with P2P financier Crowdo Holdings and tech firm INFOPRO (which offers Islamic banking digital solutions) to form a consortium to apply for a digital banking license from Bank Negara Malaysia.
With five licenses up for grabs, Pertama Digital is yet another contender in this tightly-contested race which includes other hopeful consortiums such as local banking giant RHB which teamed up with telco heavyweight Axiata, and Islamic fintech companies MyMy and Sukaniaga which are looking to offer a fully Shariah proposition.
“The pandemic has surfaced opportunities to innovate and deploy solutions rapidly for both social and commercial gain, especially in the space of financial inclusion. Our research shows that a large number of small businesses and the Rakyat are concerned about the future of their income and livelihood. This is where our digital bank and all stakeholders in the financial ecosystem, can play a role for the greater good by coming together to help those of us who have been affected. We feel reassured about finding and working with these partners who have proven that their solutions will meet the nation’s financial inclusion goals,” Saify elaborated.