Prepaid ripe for Malaysia

Visa Inc.'s business manager in Malaysia said prepaid cards intended for the disbursement of government pensions are one way of making financial services available to the underserved in the Southeast Asia country, according to the Malaysian national news agency, Bernama.

The media outlet said Visa is supporting the financial inclusion objectives of the country's central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, and foresees prepaid products as playing an important role in reaching people living outside the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

Bernama reported comments made by Stuart Tomlinson, Visa's Country Manager in Malaysia, at a news briefing June 29, 2011. "We see prepaid products such as distributing government pensions and subsidies as an important strategy for financial inclusion," Tomlinson said.

He added that the electronic payments market is developing successfully in Malaysia, with strong support from BNM in driving the electronification of payments. By the end of 2010, 12 million Visa cards will be in circulation in Malaysia, out of which four million were debit cards, Tomlinson said. "Cards grew by 16 percent compared with the previous year, while payment and transaction volume rose by 17 percent and 20 percent, respectively," he noted.

The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.

Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.