Maybank aims to rev up remittance business

The lender plans to tap more from Malaysia’s 1.9mn registered migrant workers which are estimated to remit $4.84bn this year.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) has targeted the migrant workers remittance business to increase 10 per cent this year with the introduction of its Maybank Money Express, the recovering economy and high demand for foreign workers.

The migrant worker’s remittance volume which has shown an uptrend since 2007 is estimated to reach RM14.7 billion ($4.84 billion) this year, compared to RM13.4 billion ($4.41 billion) last year.

The bank has been offering zero service charges via the Maybank Money Express remittance service from September 2010 until the end of March this year.

“We are optimistic over the prospects of the remittance business given the large population of migrant workers in Malaysia,” said Maybank deputy president and head of community financial services, Lim Hong Tat.

“We also foresee that the average income of the migrant worker will continue to rise with the introduction of a minimum salary which will translate into a higher amount remitted by individual migrants,” he told Bernama recently.

The total remittance of RM13.4 billion ($4.41 billion) last year by migrant workers, represents around two per cent of Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

View the full story in The Borneo Post.