Onecall26 Dec 2019 10:36
Currently, challenges arise for both employees and employers when it comes to salary payment. I have personally witnessed how a renowned plantation company had to carry RM1 million [about USD240,000] in cash to pay its workers,” he said.
“Such an act to pay salaries presents unnecessary risks for both employer and employees.”
Enter the convenience of e-wallets
Hussian believes that the solution would be for these foreign workers to have e-wallets embedded within SIM cards of their mobile phones.
As a result, TFP’s wholly-owned subsidiary MBP Solutions Sdn Bhd has tied up with Tune Talk to launch the OneCALL mobile fintech product.
Tune Talk is a is a mobile virtual network operator founded by Tony Fernandez of AirAsia who is also the owner of Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Football Club in the United Kingdom.
Said Hussian: “We aim to live up to our ‘OneCALL, settle all’ tagline by offering unique features such as remittance, virtual ATMs, game PINs, lifestyle tools and bill payments.”
“Subscribers are also able to enjoy Tune Talk’s mobile services such as approved voice, sms and/or data plans together with various benefits such as Tune Talk Big Points, flight redemptions and travel promotions with AirAsia, reward programmes from Tune Talk’s partners, as well as personal insurance all subject to terms and conditions of these benefits,” he added.
For plantation, construction, mining and manufacturing companies and even restaurants dependent on foreign labour, Hussian elaborated that TFP would eventually be able to incorporate its human resources management (HRM) and payroll system with eWallet into OneCALL.
“Our HRM and payroll solutions are already well-known for various functions such as scheduling of workers schedule, online leave system, claims management and issuing payroll statements.
“By integrating OneCALL into our existing solutions, we aim to develop an e-wallet which would allow enterprises to directly deposit salaries to their employees’ e-wallets,” he said, adding that the company is currently awaiting approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (the country’s central bank) and the relevant authorities for this to happen.
When asked about numbers, Hussian cited Bank Negara’s estimate that some two million do not have bank facilities and live by the day by cash alone.
“In addition, we estimate that some 66% of foreign workers also do not have banking facilities.”
“This is where we would eventually come in with our “OneCALL mobile fintech solution to ‘settle all’,” concluded Hussian.