KUALA LUMPUR: GHL Systems Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary PT Payment Electronic Indonesia (GHL Indonesia) has entered into a merchants and aggregator transaction acceptance agreement with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

GHL said the agreement will enable GHL Indonesia to manage merchant transactions, allowing them to receive electronic payments through EDC terminals (electronic data capture), QR (mobile payments), m-POS (mobile sales points) or other acceptance methods as determined by both parties.

BNI is the fourth-largest national commercial bank in Indonesia, based on assets, loans and third-party funds, and offers financial services to the corporate and consumer sectors.

Noting the company’s growth strategy is to expand its footprint and presence in Asean, GHL said the agreement is the latest step in this direction, adding the company believes there is a strong growth opportunity in Indonesia with its young population and a growing consumer market.

“We are very excited to begin this journey with BNI, one of the leading banks in Indonesia, in developing and offering electronic payment services to consumers, traders and businesses in Indonesia,” said GHL group chief executive officer Danny Leong in a statement yesterday.

“The vast geography of Indonesia and a low penetration of electronic payment acceptance bring enormous growth potential in growing the ecosystem of electronic payments,” Leong added.

Commission-based revenue collected by BNI from the EDC business, including m-POS services, has continued to grow, said GHL. In 2018, its value grew 18% year-on-year.

In addition to the retail business, BNI is targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to use m-POS, noting it is suitable for SMEs as it has a smaller operational cost than that of an ordinary EDC machine.

“As in other countries, platforms [such as m-POS] are used in traditional markets. We want to enter this segment and also the SMEs,” said Anang Fauzie, leader of BNI’s e-banking division. GHL shares closed unchanged at RM1.67 yesterday, valuing the group at RM1.23 billion.