CIMB offers Malaysia's first fully online personal loans via Touch 'n Go e-wallet

CIMB offers Malaysia's first fully online personal loans via Touch 'n Go e-wallet

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, through unit Touch n Go Group (TNG), has launched Malaysia's first fully electronic personal loan offering that allows one to borrow from as low as RM100 to a maximum of RM10,000. NSTP/ HAFIZ SOHAIMI

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, through unit Touch n Go Group (TNG), has launched Malaysia's first fully electronic personal loan offering that allows one to borrow from as low as RM100 to a maximum of RM10,000.

Repayment period for these GOpinjam loans, via Touch 'n Go e-wallet, can range from one week to one year with no hidden fees of early settlement charges, TNG said.

This marks Touch 'n Go e-wallet's first digital lending solutions offering, having previously already launched financial services propositions in investments and insurance.

TNG said to further promote inclusion and accessibility to as many people as possible, potential borrowers would need to have a minimum monthly income of RM800 for access to GOpinjam.

TNG group chief executive officer (CEO) Effendy Shahul Hamid expects GOpinjam to be available to those who otherwise would not have been able to access formal credit facilities.

"This is a true market first. We researched the landscape thoroughly before building GOpinjam and I feel we've come up with a proposition that delivers significant value to our users, at the same time address the pain points of current personal lending propositions.

"We will take feedback post launch and continue to improve with the goal of making this the go-to product for this segment.

"We have managed to get this done on the back of a 'win-win' partnership mentality between Touch 'n Go and CIMB Bank – leveraging each other's strengths in credit underwriting and wealth of data to bring the most relevant personal credit solution to underserved segments," he said at the launch of GOPinjam by Finance Minister Tengku Dstuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz here today.

Updating on the other key financial services development launched by TNG, Effendy said its GO+ micro-investment proposition launched in 2021 had attracted 2.25 million users.

On the insurance side, TNG contributed to 31 per cent of the Perlindungan Tenang Voucher Programme by the government.

CIMB Group group CEO Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said GOpinjam was in line with the bank's long-term strategy and intent for TNG, and to allow it to develop into one of Malaysia's leading non-bank digital financial services providers.

"We believe GOpinjam also addresses the government's push towards a more cashless and inclusive society, an area that both CIMB Group and Touch 'n Go Group fully support," he said.

GOpinjam is available effective immediately to TNG e-wallet users who are Malaysian citizens above 21 years old.

Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated some inevitable trends, ranging from the way people make payments to consume financial products.

Last year, the average Malaysian made 221 e-payment transactions, up from 150 in 2019.

Similarly, he said the mobile banking and e-money transactions had grown at the fastest rate.

"Mobile banking transactions nearly quadrupled to 800 billion ringgit in 2021, from RM203 billion in 2019.

"With 47 non-bank e-money issuers, e-money transactions grew nearly three-fold to RM51 billion in 2021, from RM18 billion in 2019.

"These advancements show how consumers and merchants alike have quickly adapted to the new normal by adopting cashless transactions.

"Of course, these developments would not be possible without the acceleration of technological adoption and the financial and payments industries' role in promoting a digital and mobile-first mindset," he said.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/2022/04/785150/cimb-offers-malaysias-first-fully-online-personal-loans-touch-n-go-e-wallet