PETALING JAYA: After failing in its attempt to obtain a digital banking licence, Pertama Digital Bhd says it will continue to seek partnerships with financial institutions which want to respond to the impending competition from the new digital banks.
The company, which invests in financial technology (fintech) and government technology companies, said for now, its current strategy remains as “we continue our move to develop ongoing government and enterprise digitalisation projects”.
Director of strategy Saify Akhtar said based on Bank Negara’s scoring framework, the company believes it has a strong footing on digital readiness and systems with the use of latest technological and digitalisation tools.
“We will continue to develop our disruptive business model, one that focuses on breaking the norm of conventional models and injecting digitalisation as a means to remove barriers that impede national progress,” he told StarBiz.
He said enhancements would be made to continue to develop further its eJamin, mySMS and myPay product lines, which according to him, have been well accepted by the rakyat based on the revenue generated daily and end-user remarks.
“We aim to also continue to drive the agenda of cashless transactions in Malaysia.
“Our product eJamin, a cashless bail payment system, has managed collection of over RM200mil from over 170 courts nationwide in the first two years of operations,” Saify said.
He said mySMS had so far “handled millions of messages” sent by the government and has been proven to be a good communications platform to reach the masses.
“We plan to focus primarily on the digitalisation of more government agencies at both the federal and state levels,” he added.
Saify said Pertama, which made slightly over RM5mil in net profit for its first quarter ended March 31, believes in growth by acquisition as part of its overall strategy, moving forward.
“We are on the lookout for cash flow-positive companies that have a proven track record of serving the government under various long-term contracts and concessions.
“These companies have proven capabilities that would match nicely with Pertama’s overall sense of direction and we are always looking for interested parties to partner and participate with us.”
Saify said the company’s shareholders can look forward to further development of the firm’s existing applications in the months to come.
MyPay poster
“We aim to be the go-to financial app provider with solutions that are based on individual needs.
“Our MyPay app is set to be a one-stop digital channel of choice for government agencies as they ramp up their readiness levels for faster service to the rakyat,” he said.
Saify said the masses would be the key push factor to demand better and enhanced modern and efficient service levels from various government agencies.
“Our forecast is to have the majority of government agencies digitised and ready to upgrade their mindsets towards the new digital lifestyle,” he said.
“Naturally, our shareholders would expect to see growth for our existing digital business and we intend to deliver on our promise with accelerated growth of our business lines, both current and future.
“We will grow and diversify our products and services portfolio.”
Saify also noted that the company had developed apps for state zakat authorities, Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional or PTPTN, as well as selected municipal and local city councils.
“This list is set to grow as we have proven systems in place that are capable of achieving mass adoption by more government and non-government agencies in Malaysia.”
He added that each of its product line-up has been designed to be upscaled based on the growth and demand conditions of the marketplace.
Shares in Pertama last finished at 87 apiece, valuing the entire company at RM377mil.
Its stock has taken a beating since the central bank announced the five winners of the digital banking licences in April.
Pertama Digital’s consortium in which it partnered with Crowdo Holdings Pte Ltd and Infopro Sdn Bhd did not manage to be one of the winners.