KA$Hplus Protects Malaysians Against Scammers & Introduces Co-Branded Prepaid Card With IOUpay

Virtualflex Sdn Bhd (“Virtualflex”) unveils its e-wallet platform and prepaid card – KA$Hplus, as an effort to modernize payment methods in Malaysia and reduce the risk of being exposed to potential scammers. As part of their launch event, Virtualflex has also announced a strategic partnership with a fintech company, IOU Pay (Asia) Sdn Bhd (“IOUpay”) for a co-branded prepaid card – myIOU KA$Hplus Card offered to myIOU customers in Malaysia.

Over the past decade, consumers have accustomed themselves to using their mobile devices to conduct online transactions, purchases, and banking. In the past two years, however, the Covid-19 pandemic has generated massive interest in cashless and contactless payment methods to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus. The widespread use of e-wallet systems is inevitable, and in many ways, it also benefits the users by securing them against scammers.

With a rising number of banking-related scam cases recorded in Malaysia where multiple accounts have been wiped off their savings, KA$Hplus helps combat these issues with their prepaid card solution, eliminating the possibility of the consumer’s banking account details being exposed when making payments.

KA$Hplus also prevents the stealing of credit and debit card information, as these details are never displayed in full within the e-wallet application. On top of that, the prepaid cards that come with the KA$Hplus e-wallet service do not display any card number or Card Verification Value (CVV), further reducing the risks taken by consumers when using their platform. With the launch of KA$Hplus in Malaysia, they intend to educate the consumers on methods to combat scams through e-wallet systems by hosting awareness campaigns within the Klang Valley in the coming months.

It was revealed at the press conference that Virtualflex has entered a three-year exclusive agreement with IOUpay for the rollout of myIOU KA$Hplus Card in two stages. The first stage involves issuing myIOU KA$Hplus cards to myIOU’s existing Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) consumers, and the second stage will include the integration of myIOU BNPL service within the app. This partnership is aimed at providing consumers with higher flexibility in payment options through the integration of BNPL features with the myIOU KA$Hplus prepaid card.

All KA$Hplus cards, including the myIOU KA$Hplus Card, is a reloadable prepaid debit card which carries Visa payment features that allow consumers to purchase goods and services worldwide, wherever a Visa card is accepted. Ms. Gwen Khor, IOUpay’s Head of Marketing commented saying, “The collaboration with Virtualflex to launch the myIOU KA$Hplus Card provides the market with an innovative fintech product and reinforces both companies’ goals in digital payment solutions.”

The Perbadanan Perwira Harta Malaysia (PPHM) has also engaged in a collaboration with KA$Hplus to drive Malaysia to be a tech-forward nation by encouraging merchants to opt for cashless payments as a primary method for daily transactions.

Additionally, the company has taken efforts to incorporate fully-cashless environments within our community beginning with schools, colleges, and universities through the “Ka$Hplus Cashless Campus Program 2022”, offering a total of 100 institutions access to free Visa prepaid cards and a portal to manage their accounts in a micro application within the KA$Hplus app itself, at an affordable price. In doing so, KA$Hplus aims to integrate cashless payments into our daily lives and prepare the future generation of Malaysia to adapt to the technological advancements that are soon to come.

“We are committed to contributing and improving the wellbeing of communities with our fintech solutions that offer maximum security, transparency, convenience, and usability. Whether we like it or not, the world is moving toward digital and cashless payments; by launching KA$Hplus and myIOU KA$Hplus Card, we hope to make a massive impact in Malaysia by protecting the consumers against fraudulent activities, at the same time, bringing our country forward as an exemplary nation for modernized fintech implementations,” said Mr. Heng Wa Seng, Chief Executive Officer of VIrtualflex Sdn Bhd.

A number of VIPs were present to grace the event, these would include – YBhg Dato’ Sri Steven Eng, Advisor of Malaysia Digital Chamber of Commerce; YBhg Datuk Hj Mohd Kamal bin Shukor, Senior Manager of Perbadanan Perwira Harta Malaysia (PPHM); Mr. Ken Phua, Deputy President of Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA); Ms. Carol Fung, Senior Manager of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC); Mr. Kenneth Kuan, Chief Financial Officer of IOUpay; Mr. Wayne Wong, Chief Credit Control Officer of IOUpay; Mr. Lau Teck Huat, Chief Technical Officer of IOUpay; Mr. Yeap Yong Wei, Regional Commercial Officer of IOUpay; along with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) – Beatrice Chong, Putera Ameer, and Chuojashni Subramaniam.

In conjunction with Virtualflex’s participation in Malaysia International Retail and Franchise Exhibition (MIRF) 2022, KA$Hplus is offering RM30 free credits for the first 100 sign-ups each day from 14-16 July 2022. The KA$Hplus app is now available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. For more information, visit https://main.kashplus.my/.

All images in this post are courtesy of GCMA