MCIS Insurance Berhad (MCIS Life) has taken up a 4.99% stake in Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd, one of the leading eRemit mobile money operator, through the acquisition of new ordinary shares of an undisclosed amount.
Both companies said the strategic acquisition is set to accelerate MCIS Life’s digital transformation journey and leverage on Merchantrade’s digital capabilities, access to extensive network of over 1,000 physical touchpoints throughout the country and their three million customers.
MCIS and Merchantrade Asia kicked-off a marketing distribution arrangement in 2019 where MCIS Life provided a life insurance protection plan for Merchantrade’s customers which includes Malaysians as well as migrant workers.
In August 2021, they teamed up again to provide a product targeted at underserved communities such as Malaysians eligible for the Perlindungan Tenang Voucher (PTV) scheme.
MCIS Life CEO and Managing Director Prasheem Seebran said Merchantrade is a fast-growing fin-tech company constantly at the forefront of digitisation and driving innovation in financial services thereby allowing the former to pivot on their expertise in pursuing the company’s ambition to be a digitally focused life insurer.
Ramasamy Veeran, Founder and Managing Director of Merchantrade said: “Having an established brand like MCIS Life with us resonates with our goals of expanding our insurance offerings as it allows us to better develop next-generation products and services that continue to add positive value to customers and communities around us as we make the future convenient, easier and more secure for generations to come.”
“Building from our core businesses with strategic partnerships and collaborations, we will continue to accelerate the rollout of innovative financial services and strengthen our comprehensive ecosystem of interconnected technologies, such as global remittance, payments, e-wallet solution, foreign currency exchange, micro-insurance, tele-health, micro-loans, telco services and more. All with aspirations of giving customers a dependable digital first experience and elevate financial access across all walks of life,” added Ramasamy.
“Forging this partnership with Merchantrade provides MCIS Life with significant upside potential. It allows us to break away from the traditional bancassurance model which often incurs exorbitant fees and simultaneously strengthens our position as the sole life insurance partner within the Merchantrade eco-system,” Prasheem elaborated.
Merchantrade operates 98 branches, 2 main wholesale banknote trading hubs, has more than 1,000 agent locations and cash-in cash-out merchants throughout Malaysia.