Extension initiative of Malaysian Electronic Payment System

To expand its reach Malaysian Electronic Payment System is admitting foreign Islamic banks such as Al Rajhi Banking & investment Corp (M), Kuwait Finance House (M) and Asian Finance Bank into the shared ATM network by the second quarter next year. The company chairman Michael J. Barrett notes that the initiative supports the national agenda for Malaysia to become an Islamic financial hub in line with Bank Negara’s Financial Sector Masterplan and to facilitate non-member banks/statutory bodies in offering value-added services to their customers.

At the moment, apart from cash withdrawal and currency notes processing services, MEPS also offers domestic ATM-based interbank-related, online payment, regional payment as well as consultancy services. Barrett reports that MEPS has established relations with approximately 95% of all banks in the country and was the payment network switch with the most links in South-East Asia.

“We have about 8,000 ATMs locally and over 27,000 regionally, including Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia,” he said. Barrett also added that MEPS had spent over RM3 million on its rebranding and also intended to purchase its own building by end-2009.