PETALING JAYA: MCIS Insurance Bhd (MCIS Life) has taken up a 4.99% stake in Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd, the leading e-money player and the country’s largest money services business operator through the acquisition of new ordinary shares of an undisclosed amount.
The two companies 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, they teamed up again to provide a product targeted at underserved communities such as Malaysians eligible for the Perlindungan Tenang Voucher (PTV) scheme.
The strategic collaboration has come at an opportune time as the value of life insurance and other relevant financial products have magnified amidst the pandemic. The combined strength and synergy between both companies are poised to unlock more innovative, personalised, digital insurance solutions to meet the protection needs of customers from all walks of life.
This 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 Life CEO and managing director Prasheem Seebran said Merchantrade is a fast-growing fintech 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.”
The acquisition forms a bold step forward, further strengthening the existing ties between both companies since 2019 and MCIS Life see tremendous value in Merchantrade’s mobile e-wallet application and nationwide on-ground touchpoints allowing access to the underserved communities.
“Currently MCIS Life is the exclusive life insurance partner of Merchantrade. Considering the potential of the company and various opportunities to collaborate and create value for existing and prospective customers, this investment is expected to bring significant value to us,” Prasheem explained.