Soft Space, Hong Leong Bank & JCB team to promote JCB Card Acceptance in Malaysia

By Gloria Mathias

Soft Space, a FinTech provider, JCB International & and Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has collaborated to drive JCB Card acceptance in Malaysia, bolstered by strong post-pandemic economy recovery prospects.

As the Malaysian economy grows positively in 2023, tourism has emerged as one of the brightest sectors spearheading the recovery process. Soft Space and JCBI recently signed an agreement to enable Soft Space to work with local acquirers, such as HLB, to promote JCB Card acceptance in Malaysia.

“This merely represents a first step in our ambition to roll out similar agreements in Southeast Asia, boosting JCB Card acceptance and riding on the wave of increasing contactless card payments in the region,” said Joel Tay, Chief Executive Officer of Soft Space.

“Malaysia has been an important destination country for our card members across the regions. Establishing a partnership with HLB is a huge step forward for expanding the JCB acceptance network in Malaysia. We can now better serve JCB Card members coming to Malaysia not only from Japan but also from the ASEAN region, where we have more than 10 million card members. I am especially delighted as this achievement has been brought via a unique tripartite collaboration, including Soft Space. Leveraging on today’s success, we are further strengthening our presence in the entire ASEAN region through this partnership with Soft Space,” said Yoshiki Kaneko, President and Chief Executive Officer of JCB International Co., Ltd.

Andrew Jong, Managing Director of Personal Financial Services at HLB noted, “This partnership with JCB and Soft Space signifies the Bank’s commitment to providing financial products and services centred around the needs of its merchants and their customers. With an influx of tourists and expats coming from Japan into Malaysia, the option to accept JCB Cards will ensure convenience for its cardholders and provide businesses with an additional opportunity to capture more tourists and grow their business.”

The promotion of JCB Card acceptance in Malaysia signals the expansion of its merchant network, establishing card issuing solutions and providing customer marketing solutions in Malaysia and later in Southeast Asia.