KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): Public Bank Bhd and Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia Bhd (KOJADI) have signed a service agreement for JomPAY, an e-payment facility, today.

In a statement from Public Bank this evening, it was revealed Public Bank has been appointed by KOJADI as the master biller bank for JomPAY.

According to Public Bank, the tie-up offers KOJADI, the convenience of collecting loan repayments from their customers through 40 GIRO participating member banks across Malaysia.

KOJADI is one of the appointed bodies managing loan allocation to SMEs and is also tasked with the disbursement of loans for Economic Transformation Programmes such as Transformasi Kedai Runcit and Automative Workshop Modernisation. Other types of loans being offered by KOJADI include education and micro-credit loans.

The government had announced in Budget 2016 that it will provide a small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) loan, totalling RM90 million, to support petty traders, SMEs and entrepreneurship development.

Public Bank has been an active participant in a series of e-payment roadshows and township campaigns on payment card acceptance nationwide, organised by BNM, which is aimed at creating awareness of developments in the payment industry, as well as educating the public on e-payment services.

“Public Bank is committed to supporting Malaysia’s transformation to e-payments, and will support a new programme to promote e-payment in the future.

“The bank has organised extensive nationwide e-payments forums to promote the bank’s comprehensive cash management and e-banking services,” it said.

The agreement was signed by Public Bank’s chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek and deputy CEO, Datuk Chang Kat Kiam.

Signing on behalf of KOJADI were its chairman, Datuk Ng Peng Hay, and its honorary secretary, Datuk Yik Phooi Hong.

JomPAY was launched by MyClear, which is a subsidiary of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), in accordance with the national aspiration to accelerate the adoption of e-payments in Malaysia.

By establishing an accessible bill payment eco-system, JomPAY ensures consumers can pay bills anywhere and anytime via the secure Internet and mobile banking channels of various banks across the country.

For businesses and billers, using JomPAY helps them to collect payments from customers at a minimal cost.

The collaboration between Public Bank and KOJADI is in line with BNM’s directive to migrate cash and cheque payments to e-payments.

BNM’s initiatives include introduction of the e-payment incentive fund and card reform framework, as measures to accelerate the migration to electronic payment.