A NEW challenger has entered the e-wallet market in Malaysia, and it comes bearing claws, fangs, and stripes.
MAE, an update to the Maybank App, lets users send, receive, and request money, in addition to being able to perform basic banking and purchasing functions – all without the need to open a bank account.
For non-Maybank account holders, MAE has a lot to offer.
The registration process is relatively simple. It only requires some form of identification, and a selfie for confirmation.
Once logged in with an account, and with a minimum deposit of RM10, users are presented with a simple interface with two main options: Money In and Money Out.
Of course, there are also other side options to recruit others using affiliation codes, and a QR code scanner.
MAE’s functionality is similar to most e-wallets, with the addition of a few novel features such as the ability to pay bills, buy movie tickets, flight tickets, and split a bill right within the app.
It uses the Maybank QR Pay as a cashless payment option.
A noted feature of MAE is that it can generate a virtual Visa card for users who are not Maybank account holders.
This card can be used as a debit card and can be paired with Samsung Pay, and be accepted wherever contactless payment via Visa POS is available, which is a far more common option.
To help with the proliferation of new MAE users, Maybank is rewarding users who recruit other users with cash via a game where users tap coins and diamonds on the screen while avoiding bombs.
For existing Maybank account members, MAE offers a sleeker interface, but with nearly all the functionality of the Maybank App.
Although existing account holders will not receive a virtual Visa card, they can transfer money back and forth between their savings and MAE account at any time.
As one of the five banks on the list of more than 40 e-Money issuers in Malaysia by Bank Negara Malaysia, Maybank’s offering looks to be more than just another player in an already confusingly saturated e-wallet market.
It doubles as a way to attract more people, especially the millennials, to take up Maybank as their banking solution.
