KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia and LONG BEACH, N.Y., July 22, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CIMB Bank, Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider and Planet Payment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLPM), a leading international and multi-currency payment processor, today announced the launch of Pay in Your Currency, Planet Payment’s Dynamic Currency Conversion solution, to CIMB Bank’s portfolio of merchants in Malaysia.
According to the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, inbound tourism into Malaysia increased by 10% to 7.09 million in the first quarter of 2014. Recent statistics demonstrate continued increasing levels of international travel into Malaysia with a large portion of the increase attributable to travelers from other Asian countries. For example, the first quarter 2015 saw an 11.2% increase in arrivals from South Korea1. Ideal for areas where tourism is on the rise, Pay in Your Currency provides eligible international visitors using eligible Visa® and MasterCard® credit and debit cards with the choice to pay for goods and services in Malaysian Ringgit or the currency they know best – their own. This agreement creates additional opportunity for merchants in the dynamic Malaysian market to enjoy the benefits that flow from Pay in Your Currency.
With Pay in Your Currency, merchants can attract more international customers by offering a customized payment experience. Planet Payment’s dynamic currency conversion solution also enables merchants to reduce processing costs on foreign transactions, while continuing to receive settlement and reporting in Ringgit, with no delay in funding.
“We pride ourselves on offering customer-centric payment solutions that both our merchants and their customers will appreciate and value,” said Vipin Kumar Agrawal, Head of Cards, Retail Assets and Deposits of CIMB Bank. “We look forward to working with Planet Payment to provide our merchants with Pay in Your Currency, a best-in-class personalized pricing solution that will improve business for our merchants, while enhancing customer service for their international clientele.”
“Planet Payment is excited to work with CIMB Bank to expand acceptance of our solutions throughout Malaysia, making Pay in Your Currency available to the balance of CIMB Bank’s merchants, and to international travelers visiting Malaysia,” said Tommy Chau, Managing Director Asia Pacific at Planet Payment. “Our value-added service will allow merchants to offer superior customer service and reduce the cost of acceptance, while providing international travellers with the added convenience of paying in their own currency.”
About CIMB Bank
CIMB Bank is the consumer banking arm of CIMB Group, offering retail, commercial and corporate banking services.
CIMB Group is Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider and one of ASEAN’s leading universal banking groups. It offers consumer banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management and insurance products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Group is now present in nine out of 10 ASEAN nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos). Beyond ASEAN, the Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, Bahrain, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, the US and UK.
CIMB Group has the most extensive retail branch network in ASEAN of more than 1,000 branches as at 30 September 2014. CIMB Group’s investment banking arm is also one of the largest Asia Pacific-based investment banks, offering amongst the most comprehensive research coverage of more than 1,000 stocks in the region.
CIMB Group operates its business through three main brand entities, CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and CIMB Islamic. CIMB Group is also the 97.9% shareholder of Bank CIMB Niaga in Indonesia, and 93.7% shareholder of CIMB Thai in Thailand.
CIMB Group is listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. It had a market capitalisation of approximately RM54.7 billion as at 30 October 2014. The Group has over 40,000 employees located in 18 countries.
About Planet Payment
Planet Payment is a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services. Planet provides its services in 23 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, primarily through its 70 acquiring bank and processor customers. Planet’s point-of-sale and e-commerce services help merchants sell more goods and services to consumers, and together with its ATM services, are integrated within the payment card transaction flow, enabling Planet’s acquiring customers, their merchants and consumers to shop, pay, transact and reconcile payment transactions in multiple currencies, geographies and channels.
Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, London, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information about Planet and its services.
1http://corporate.tourism.gov.my/images/media/news/MR%20-%20Q1%20Tourist%20Arrivals.pdf