Agrobank Launches Malaysia’s First Business Visa Debit Card-i

Kuala Lumpur- Agrobank today launched its AGRO VISA DEBIT CARD-i for both retail and business consumer, which enables customer to conveniently access their funds at Agrobank electronically through Visa’s local and worldwide network. The launch also saw Agrobank becomes the first bank in Malaysia and Asia Pacific to introduce a debit card product for business customers based on Shariah principles.

The AGRO BUSINESS VISA DEBIT CARD-i was officially launched by YB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Malaysia (MoA) during MoA Monthly Gathering at Putrajaya. Also present during the launch were Mr. Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia , Tan Sri Faizah Mohd Tahir, Chairman of Agrobank and Dato’ Wan Mohd Fadzmi Wan Othman, President/Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank. More than 600 guests attended the event.

In his speech, YB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob commended Agrobank for its continuing initiatives and efforts to enhance the products and services provided to the customers. This debit card offers immense benefits as they do not have any income requirements nor impose charges of late payment. Therefore, it is suitable for people of all ages and background, particularly communities in the agriculture industry. The move to encourage the usage of debit card will help to support the governments initiative to promote a cashless lifestyle by 2020 as e-payment transaction is more efficient, convenient and safer than carrying huge amount of cash he added further.

According to Dato’ Wan Mohd Fadzmi Wan Othman, Agrobank is proud to be working with VISA as the preferred global payment card network provider. With the introduction of the new business Visa Debit Card-i, Agrobank aims to create more value-added service to further enhance our product offering in meeting the growing demands and needs of the small and medium size enterprise (SME) customer segment for greater convenience and secured payment services.

Existing account holders who wish to convert their ATM card to the new AGRO Visa Debit Card-I can do it for free, as there will be no fee imposed in replacing the card. Agrobank is committed to introducing new innovative products that are most relevant to locals to remain competitive, in line with the recent reforms in the card payment industry by Bank Negara Malaysia that will further transform the country payment system to support the move towards cashless society added Dato’ Wan Mohd Fadzmi.

Visa is pleased to partner with Agrobank to launch the region’s first Islamic Business Visa Debit card. The AGRO VISA DEBIT CARD-i for business will benefit cardholders who often incur business expenses as it reduces the hassle of carrying cash and time spent reconciling expenses. It also provides eCommerce functionality allowing cardholders to make business purchases online, said Mr. Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia.

The card can also be used for overseas transactions at more than 30 million VISA merchants worldwide, either online or in-store, as well as to withdraw cash at 2 million ATMs worldwide. Within a month of its introduction; Agrobank has issued close to 20,000 AGRO VISA DEBIT CARD-i and is targeting to reach 1 million debit card holders in the next three years.

The card provides debit card holders access to their Agrobank accounts with lesser risk compared to carrying cash. The card is also enhanced with safety and security features that have been set by the bank, in accordance with regulatory and international compliance standards. Applications for AGRO VISA DEBIT CARD-i can be done at any nearest Agrobank branches nationwide, or for more info please call 1-300-88-2476 (AGRO). 

About Agrobank

Agrobank is Malaysia’s leading agriculture-base bank providing holistic financial services and banking facilities. It is a government-owned Bank under the purview of the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MFI), driven by the policy set forth by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry. The Bank currently has presence in nine regions across Malaysia with 190 branches.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks ‘VisaNet’ that is capable of handling more than 47,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.