The e-wallet services will be developed with a strong use case amid concern over the abundance of e-wallet players in the market, says CEO

by SULHI KHALID/ pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

XOX Bhd’s wholly owned unit, XOX Mobile Sdn Bhd, plans to roll out its own e-wallet application in three to six months and is targeting to have a 10% market share within the first year of its inception, according to the mobile virtual network operator’s CEO Ng Kok Heng.

Ng said the e-wallet services will be developed with a strong use case amid concern over the abundance of e-wallet players in the market now.

“We have developed a lot of ecology, the last part is to develop the use case and design of the e-wallet.

“We wanted to induce the market’s segment business. That’s what the merchants are looking for. This is about a very focused implementation, not something generic,” he told reporters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, yesterday.

In June, XOX proposed a rights issue with free warrants to raise up to RM66 million to fund its e-wallet and electronic SIM (e-SIM) businesses expansion.

The group will allocate RM33 million of the proceeds raised from the rights issue to expand its e-wallet function by developing a new mobile application to support micropayments, the issuance of Mastercards and peer-to-peer e-money transfers.

Another RM15 million has been earmarked for its e-SIM expansion as an alternative to the traditional SIM cards.

The innovative embedded SIM technology, e-SIM, was unveiled in March this year and the group is targeting to reach 100,000 users by the end of this year.

On a separate note, the group announced its collaboration with Mastercard to introduce the XOX Prepaid Mastercard as part of its plan to enhance the digital ecosystem for XOX Mobile’s over 2.5 million subscribers.

“XOX Mobile is excited to work with Mastercard, bringing forth great synergy and drive to innovate with products and services, while contributing to the advancement of Malaysia’s growing digital ecosystem,” he said.

Mastercard Malaysia and Brunei country manager Perry Ong said the partnership will address the need for greater convenience, safety and speed in all aspects of going digital — including payments.

“Malaysians are embracing increa- singly digital lifestyles and businesses need to step forward with creative solutions to meet their demands and enhance customer experience through innovation and collaboration,” he said.

The rollout of the XOX Prepaid Mastercard is expected to take place by the end of 2019 or early next year.

XOX Mobile’s subscribers will soon be able to enjoy the convenience of making simple, secure and swift payments with Mastercard, where the subscribers could opt for a virtual or physical card managed through a dedicated XOX Mobile app.

Established in 2008 and listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia in July 2011, XOX provides mobile phone services via Celcom’s 4G+, 4G, 3G and 2G network infrastructure.