KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 19): GHL Systems Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary PT Payment Electronic Indonesia (GHL Indonesia) has entered into a merchants and aggregator transaction acceptance agreement with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

GHL said the agreement will enable GHL Indonesia to manage merchant transactions and allow them to receive electronic payments through EDC terminals (electronic data capture), QR (mobile payments), mPOS (mobile sales points) or other acceptance methods as determined by both parties.

BNI is the fourth largest national commercial bank in Indonesia, based on assets, loans, and third party funds and offers financial services to the corporate and consumer sectors.

Noting that the company’s growth strategy is to grow its footprint and presence in Asean, GHL said the agreement is the latest step in this direction, adding that the company believes there is a strong growth opportunity in Indonesia given its young population and growing consumer market.

“We are very excited to begin this journey with BNI, one of the leading banks in Indonesia in developing and offering electronic payment services among consumers, traders and businesses in Indonesia,” said GHL group chief executive officer Danny Leong.

“The vast geography of Indonesia and the low penetration of electronic payment acceptance have enormous growth potential in growing the ecosystem of electronic payments,” Leong added.

Commission-based revenue collected by BNI from the EDC business, including m-POS services, has continued to grow, said GHL. In 2018, its value grew 18% year-on-year.

In addition to the retail business, BNI is targeting for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to use m-POS, noting that it is suitable for SMEs as it has a smaller operational cost than ordinary EDC machine.

"As in other countries, platforms [such as m-POS] are used in traditional markets. We want to enter this segment and other SME segments,” said Anang Fauzie, leader of BNI’s e-banking division.

Shares of GHL closed unchanged at RM1.67 today, valuing the group at RM1.23 billion.