South Korean-owned Phnom Penh Commercial Bank Plc (PPCBank) and Thai-owned True Money (Cambodia) Plc (TrueMoney) on Wednesday entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to speed up loan repayments to the bank and encourage digital payments.
The MoU enables PPCBank’s clients to repay loans via the TrueMoney Wallet app and at agents, the companies said. Repayment fees will be waived as of Wednesday till December 31.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, PPCBank president Shin Chang-moo said the partnership is another milestone in the bank’s plan to make the repayment process easier and more convenient.
“We believe that finding a good partner is priceless. The reputable name of TrueMoney would definitely give peace of mind to our customers when it comes to repaying their loans through third parties,” he said.
TrueMoney chief strategy officer Khuon Frandara, noted that the fintech brand TrueMoney is operated by Ascend Money Co, which is a digital financial services venture of the Bangkok-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group).
Establishing the company’s operations in Cambodia in 2016, TrueMoney now has more than 10,000 agents on the ground, which she noted is the country’s largest fintech agent network.
“As a fintech company, TrueMoney also has the backing of one of the strongest names in the global financial sector – Ant Financial which is owned by Alibaba.
“PPCBank also has strong partners such as Jeonbuk Bank, Apro Financial and JB Woori Capital. So, I can safely say that our customers can rest assured that their finances are in good hands in their dealings with both of our esteemed institutions.
“Our aim is to offer convenience to all our customers and to also associate and work with reputable organisations such as PPCBank.
“We are thrilled to be entering into this partnership with an organisation that shares our deep commitment to our Cambodian customers’ financial wellbeing, and to providing customers with best-in-class service through personal contact and innovative digital platforms,” Frandara said.
The number of active e-wallet accounts in the Kingdom hit 5.22 million last year, a marked 64 per cent surge from 2018, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) report in June.
It also noted that the number of deposit accounts at financial institutions reached 7.62 million last year.
The volume of money transfers via banks and Payment Service Institutions (PSIs) constituted $57.99 billion last year, or 213 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), data compiled by the NBC show.
Meanwhile, mobile payments via banks and PSIs equalled 22.9 per cent of 2019 GDP.
