KUALA LUMPUR (March 7): Censof Holdings Bhd's subsidiary Asian Business Software Solutions Pte Ltd (ABSS) has reached a deal with Australian-listed Mint Payments Ltd to work together in 11 Southeast Asian countries.

The two companies will distribute, license and integrate Mint's omni-channel payment solutions with ABSS' MYOB-branded small and medium enterprise (SME) software products in the 11 countries, said Censof in a statement today.

ABSS' master services agreement with Mint, which has an initial three-year term, would capitalise on the increasing trend of digitisation and computerisation in the Asian market, as well as the use of e-commerce and mobile payments.

ABSS, which is 51%-owned by Censof, currently covers Singapore and Malaysia where it serves more than 200,000 business customers.

"The region is experiencing a regulatory and structural change to displace cash and increase payment card acceptance, demonstrated by Bank Negara Malaysia's target of 800,000 card terminals by 2020 as well as the adoption of chip and PIN (personal identification number) by Jan 1, 2017.

"This partnership is the first initiative in the Southeast Asian market to take advantage of the structural change and places Mint and ABSS' MYOB (mind your own business) customers in a prime position to realise opportunities in the region," Censof said.

Its managing director Ameer Shaik Mydin said the deal would enable the group to deliver a wide range of business to more than 330,000 businesses and accounting practices in Asia.

"Mint is the leading payments provider and we are delighted to work hand-in-hand with them to transform and modernise business management systems for our customers," he said.

Mint chief executive officer Alex Teoh said chip and PIN, and contactless payments have become a necessity in Australia and New Zealand.

"With the rise of physical card and electronic payments in the region, we see similar adoption and growth rates experienced in Australia being reflected in these South East Asian markets; however, the market size and opportunity will be far greater.

"The region is expected to account for approximately 20% of mPOS (mobile point of sale) devices and transaction spend worldwide by the next five years, making it the right time for Mint to pursue these markets aggressively," Teoh said.

Censof shares closed half a sen or 1.96% lower at 25 sen for a market capitalisation of RM125.4 million.

Shares in Mint rose one cent or 6.67% to close at eight cents giving it a market capitalisation of AU$45.26 million.