- Partnership enables the parties to support increasing numbers of digital consumers.
- The functions will capitalize on M’sia, which has 16.1 million visitors and$ 10.89 billion in revenue in 2023.
, Andrew Jong (HLB), Joel Tay (Soft Space) and Yoshiki Kaneko (JCB)_PR.jpg "Left to right: Andrew Jong, managing director of Personal Financial Services at HLB, Joel Tay, CEO, Soft Space and Yoshiki Kaneko, president and CEO of JCB International Co., Ltd signed a tripartite partnership to expand JCB Card acceptance in Malaysia")
With strong post-pandemic economic recovery prospects, Soft Space Sdn Bhd, JCB International Co, Ltd.( JCBI ), the international operations subsidiary of the top international payment brand in Japan, and Hong Leong Bank( HLB ) have teamed up to actively promote the acceptance of JB Cards in Malaysia.
According to a joint statement from the parties, tourism has become one of the brightest sectors driving the recovery process as the Malaysian economy continues to grow positively in 2023, with Japan & nbsp ranking among the top ten contributors to visitor arrivals and spending. In 2023, Malaysia & nbsp is anticipated to welcome 16.1 million foreign visitors and bring in$ 10.89 billion( RM49.2 billion ) in tourist revenue.
Soft Space and JCBI recently signed a contract that will allow them to work with local acquirers, such as HLB, to encourage the acceptance of the JB Card in Malaysia in order to take advantage of this & nbsp, the recovery prospect. One of HLB’s traders that has started accepting JCB Card payments, according to them, is the Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara resort.
” As Japanese tourist arrivals in Malaysia start to ramp up again, we are pleased to be able to help and encourage cross-border bills between Japan and Malaysia via our companions ,” said Joel Tay, CEO of Soft Space. This is only the first step in our plan to implement similar agreements in Southeast Asia, increasing the popularity of JCB Cards and capitalizing on the region’s growing wireless card market.
Malaysia has been a significant destination country for our card members across the regions, according to Yoshiki Kaneko, president and CEO of JCBI & nbsp. He continued,” The development of JCB’s acceptance system in Malaysia is greatly advanced by forming a partnership with HLB. ” We can presently better provide JCB Card people arriving in Malaysia from both Japan and the ASEAN place, where we have more than 10 million cards people.” I am particularly happy because this accomplishment was made possible by a special bilateral engagement that included Soft Space. Through this relationship with Soft Space, we are more bolstering our presence in the whole ASEAN region by capitalizing on today’s success, he continued.
The opportunity to take JCB Cards will ensure comfort for its customers and give companies an extra opportunity to capture more visitors and grow their business, according to Andrew Jong, managing chairman of Personal Financial Services at HLB. With the help of this relationship, we will be able to assist our merchants in raising the value of their sales and customer transactions while also serving the growing number of customers who are going digital.
The contract demonstrates the development of the relationship between JCB and Soft Space since the latter’s January 2022 investment in finance. This includes a number of business partnerships aimed at utilizing JCB’s international reputation, alliances, and brand reach, as well as the fintech-as-sa-service business model and technology of Soft Space, along with regulatory know-how.