This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 21, 2018

SEPANG: AirAsia Group Bhd is tapping into RHB Bank Bhd’s expertise and reach to improve its e-wallet BigPay’s services. Treasury and foreign exchange (forex) services offering better rates, and remittances are among the areas that both parties are considering, said AirAsia group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

“We will introduce [these collaborations] at the right time. What I’ve mentioned [about BigPay] is just one of the many ways we can work with RHB,” Fernandes told reporters at the signing of a strategic partnership between both parties on Monday.

“We also like RHB for their Asean infrastructure. Their geography fits our strategy,” said Fernandes, also a director of BIG Loyalty Sdn Bhd.

RHB is currently the only bank that AirAsia is working with, although Fernandes said the group has been approached by other banks seeking partnerships.

Earlier this year, RHB group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said RHB would seek to partner with existing e-wallet players instead of developing its own wallet in an already crowded space.

The bank and the airline operator had entered into a strategic partnership for RHB customers to accumulate AirAsia BIG Loyalty points across selected retail banking products.

With its launch targeted for the first quarter of 2019, the loyalty programme will later be extended to regional and international transactions, Khairussaleh said. “It is an opportunity for us to reward our four million customers for their loyal support towards RHB,” he added.

AirAsia has also appointed Spencer Lee as BIG Loyalty’s CEO. Lee was formerly the chief commercial and strategy officer of RedBeat Ventures, AirAsia’s digital venture arm.

According to Fernandes, BigPay will undergo a rebranding as it expands its product offerings, catering for its users’ lifestyle needs.