Malaysian telco aims to boost e-commerce

via KHMER NZ

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 15:01 Jimmy Ellingham

MALAYSIAN-based e-commerce company MobilityOne is looking to expand its business to Cambodia by providing an electronic link between banks and telecommunications companies.

Cambodia business development manager Prakash Rao said MobilityOne hoped to launch an online mobile-banking, top-up and bill-payment system, accessible on the internet, mobile phones and ATMs, in two to three months.

There was no similar conduit already in the country, he said.

“We find that the banks prefer online services because it’s hassle-free.”

Five of the country’s nine telecommunications providers – Qb, Hello, Metfone, Smart Mobile and Starcell – have signed up, and two more are “close to signing”, he said, and the company is in talks and conducting tests with a few of the country’s 28 banks.

Rao declined to say how many were onboard, but said those working with MobilityOne’s Cambodian subsidiary had a customer base of about 300,000.

It would take some time for the e-platform to be established, but Rao said he was confident there would be growth, even if banks did not warm to the service straight away.

“The public is not ready, but we think the telcos understand that this is the future,” he said.