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Merchantrade has announced it partnership with Ant Group. The alliance will enable Merchantrade’s clients in Singapore and Malaysia to send remittances instantly to Alipay’s customers in China.
Merchantrade partners with Ant Group
Merchantrade, the largest money service business (MSB) in Malaysia, has entered into an alliance with Ant Group. The latter company is a unicorn in the fintech sector. The partnership between the two firms will allow Merchantrade’s clients residing in Singapore or Malaysia to send remittances in real time to Alipay’s customers in China.
The recipients can access the funds via their bank account, as long as it is linked to the Alipay app. Ant Group is the company behind Alipay; a platform that serves over 1 billion customers.
The service yielded through the partnership between Ant Group and Merchantrade is currently available at the over 450 agents and 81 branches of Merchantrade in Malaysia. One can also find it on eRemit Malaysia, which is a remittance mobile app introduced by the MSB. In the near future, the service will be accessible via Merchantrade Money, the firm’s e-wallet, and its eRemit Singapore app.
Currently, the service only allows individuals to remit funds to China. However, efforts are underway to extend the same to other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Ant Group’s partners within these emerging markets will make the expansion possible.
While speaking about the partnership, Merchantrade’s Managing Director, Ramasamy said, “As a leading MSB operator and international remittance hub provider, we continuously explore new ways to apply our technology and connect with partners…, particularly in Asia, where we have a foothold in the remittance market through local partners.”
Merchantrade to cash in on intra-migration in Asia
Merchantrade is keen on taking advantage of the opportunities created by the intra-migration in the Asian continent. Malaysia and Singapore are some of the Asian countries with a high number of Chinese migrants. The nations have over 6.4 and 3.6 million Chinese migrants respectively. These individuals need a convenient way to remit funds to their friends and family members in China.
By partnering with Alipay, which is a leading payments platform in China, Merchantrade seeks to enhance its growth by enabling the transfer of funds to China in real time. Its intentions to expand the partnership-based service to Indonesia and the Philippines is also apt since the two countries are also on the list of Asian countries with the largest number of Chinese migrants.
Alipay is also keen on partnering with financial service providers with innovative technologies. In August 2020, Alipay partnered with Paysend. Just like Merchantrade, Paysend used the alliance to target Chinese living in the diaspora.
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