Soft Space lands Maybank and Maxis in latest mPOS deal

• Soft Space’s 2nd official deal in Malaysia, Maybank its 13th bank client in 3yrs
• Maxis bundles for its SME customers, Maybank aims to get 4K new merchants

DIGITAL payments technology provider Soft Space International Sdn Bhd announced that Maybank Bhd and Maxis Bhd have agreed to a partnership that will see the mega-corporations using the startup’s mPOS (mobile point-of-sale) technology.
 
Soft Space has been appointed Maybank’s official technology partner for its mPOS platform.
 
Maybank is Malaysia’s leading bank while Maxis is one of the country’s leading communications service providers. The partnership would see SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and small retail businesses being able to accept credit card payments using mobile devices.
 
The Jan 26 announcement with Maybank and Maxis represents Soft Space’s second official launch in Malaysia, with the former marking its 13th bank client in its three years of operation, Soft Space said in a statement.
 
In October 2013, the Malaysian startup landed CIMB Bank as its first Malaysian client, after having already secured a number of deals in neighbouring South-East Asian countries. That deal also involved Maxis rival DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd.
 
In the latest agreement, Maybank aims to attract 4,000 new merchants in the first year, with Maxis providing bundled solutions consisting of the latest devices and communication plans to its large SME customer base, especially those in suburban areas, Soft Space said.
 
“This new service is targeted especially at SMEs and small retailers who will appreciate its seamless features and recognise the importance of providing their customers with added convenience for payments,” said B. Ravintharan, Maybank’s group head of Cards.
 
He said this new payment technology was part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to enhance its value proposition to customers and to support the e-payments initiative outlined in the Malaysian Government’s Financial Sector Blueprint, which targets 25 point of sales (POS) per 1,000 inhabitants by 2020, especially among the SMEs.
 
“We see a good synergy between banks and telcos, [with each] leveraging off each other to empower SMEs and small retail businesses with mobile card payments,” said Soft Space chief executive officer Chang Chew Soon (pic).
 
“We will be introducing some exciting features that complement our mPOS solution this year, and will be announcing some of these innovations in the coming months.
 
“We are on a mission to create seamless payment experiences that benefit both businesses and consumers. We are glad Maybank is on board with us,” added Chang, also a Digital News Asia Digerati50.
 
The Maybank mPOS offering starts from RM10 (US$2.90) per month with no other upfront costs, and is capable of accepting cards issued by American Express, MasterCard and Visa.
 
Maybank is the largest company by market capitalisation on Bursa Malaysia, and is ranked first among listed Malaysian companies and is among the top 500 companies in the Forbes Global 2000.
 
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