21/07/2025

MONDAY | JULY 21, 2025

12

BANKING & INSURANCE

Alliance Bank’s film and conference take centre stage

MBSB Retailer Dashboard

simplifies payment tracking for SMEs in retailing sector PETALING JAYA: MBSB Bank Bhd has launched the MBSB Retailer Dashboard, the first locally developed banking solution designed to simplify and automate payment tracking for Malaysian SMEs in the retail sector. Tailored to meet the growing demands of digital payments and operational complexity, this tool offers a centralised, full access view of incoming transactions across outlets, platforms and payment types. In an increasingly fragmented retail environ ment where SMEs must juggle eWallets, food delivery apps, card terminals, and in-store POS, reconciling payments has become time con suming and error prone. The MBSB Retailer Dashboard addresses this pain point head on, giving retailers a single source of truth for their daily collections. “This solution isn’t about tech for tech’s sake,” said MBSB Group chairman Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman. “It’s built around a simple idea: SMEs need better visibility to run better busi nesses. With this launch, we’re making pay ment clarity accessible, automated and actionable.” The recent launch was officiated at a meaningful event attended by SME clients and partners, including QBistro, Kapten Batik, and Richiamo Coffee. As part of the occasion, Kapten Batik and Richiamo signed partnership agree ments with MBSB Bank, joining QBistro, an early adopter that has already reported operational improvements from using the dashboard. “As a fast-moving F&B chain, we don’t have the luxury of digging through reports. The dashboard gives us instant insights across all branches, which helps us stay focused on customers, not chasing numbers,” said Hajris Group Sdn Bhd group managing director Riyasutin Mohamed Dulkif. Richiamo Coffee chain director Nurul Nabilah Muhamad Zamry, who echoed the sentiments, said, “For a growing chain café like ours, the Retailer Dashboard is a game changer. It helps us track income, spot trends, and reconcile payments – all in one place. It’s like having a financial command centre for our outlets.” Built to integrate seamlessly with existing payment systems, the dashboard enables centralised tracking across all payment channels and store locations; automated matching of sales with collections; instant alerts for discrepancies or shortfalls; instant access to filterable data by outlet, date, or method and seamless end-of-day reconciliation to reduce finance team workload. By removing the need for manual cross referencing and fragmented spreadsheets, SMEs can now close books faster, catch issues earlier and make quicker, data-driven decisions. From cash flow management to financial reporting, the tool is designed to save time and reduce risk, a key priority for SMEs with lean teams and tight margins. The bank is targeting to onboard 30 to 50 key SME retailers in the first year, with adoption expected to grow by 30% in year two. By the third year, MBSB Bank aims to be the preferred digital banking partner for Malaysia’s retail SMEs, supported by an ecosystem of practical, tech enabled tools. This launch marks another milestone in MBSB Bank’s digital innovation journey for SMEs, following the introduction of its fully online business current account for SMEs. Both solutions reflect the bank’s commitment to empower entrepreneurs through practical, accessible digital banking.

co-founder and CEO of Ampersand Advisory, who also directed the film. “You’ll see the unguarded moments, the investor debates and the mentorship that shapes growth. It’s raw, relatable and relevant. These are the stories of Malay sia’s future business leaders, told without filter.” Filmed during the intensive BizSmart Challenge journey, the film offers never before-seen access to mentorship sessions, last-minute pitch prep, emotional highs and lows – and the real stakes faced by entre-preneurs chasing funding and recognition, while managing personal pressures and daily business challenges. “This is more than a celebration of success. It’s a visual archive and story of what it takes to build a business in today’s Malaysia”, said Sandeep. “We’re delighted that a local home grown bank wanted to make a heart warming film about local entrepreneurs, and picked a local agency like ours to do so. As an entrepreneur I can resonate with the journey of these courageous and diverse founders.” Evangeline Song, head of brand part nerships, Apac and Middle East at iQIYI, said, “This is the first time a bank-led SME initiative has been transformed into a cinematic experience that balances heart and ambition, It proves entrepreneurship isn’t reserved for boardrooms – it highlights the highs, lows and spirit of local founders who are taking bold steps to shape their future to make it more meaningful. “We’re excited to bring such authentic, home-grown stories to a wider audience through this collaboration.”

mentorship, and market exposure. In 2024, the challenge introduced the 60-second Elevator Pitch as a new and dynamic addition, reinforcing its reputation as a trailblazing platform within Malaysia’s SME ecosystem. “For over a decade, we’ve supported entrepreneurs beyond financial services,” said group CEO Kellee Kam. “This movie is Malaysia’s first feature length SME business pitch film that invites the public to witness the grit, vulnerability, and determination behind Malaysia’s SME founders. It’s a portrait of resilience and ambition – and a celebration of the change makers building our future.” The idea for The Ultimate Elevator Pitch was sparked by a single insight: entre preneurship is not just strategy – it is deeply emotional. It is best understood through the lived experience of founders. With audiences increasingly drawn to authentic, documentary-style content, the bank saw an opportunity to bring these stories to life in a way that is both exciting and real, to inspire the next cohort of Malaysian entrepreneurs. Partnering with local agency Ampersand Advisory, the film blends cinematic storytelling with entrepreneurial depth – capturing moments that rarely make the headlines but define the heart of business building. “We see entrepreneurs as heroes, and that’s how we approached this movie. Our client was open-minded and the idea of a movie came in a large part from them. The audience gets a rare front-row seat to some of the struggles and high points that define a founder’s journey,” said Sandeep Joseph,

PETALING JAYA: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is supporting Altervim Co Ltd, the renewable energy unit of Thailand’s leading conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), in its expansion into Malaysia. As the sole bilateral lender, Maybank is providing Altervim’s maiden green loan to finance its rooftop solar power generation business, aligning with May bank’s sustainability goals of driving energy transition across Asean. Spanning multiple sites across Malaysia, Altervim will deliver installed solar capacity of up to 20MW in the initial phase with Lotus’s Malaysia’s 28 branches. This is expected to generate 24,650,000 kWh of clean energy per year and offset a total of 433,958 tonnes of CO2 emissions through out the lifecycle of the projects. Maybank global banking group CEO, Datuk John Chong said: “We have a long standing relationship with the CP Group in the Asean region and a shared vision of accelerating the transition to a low carbon economy. We are proud to support Altervim’s foray into Malaysia, while contributing to the government’s energy transition agenda to increasing the renewable energy mix. “The financing facility to Altervim is structured according to Maybank’s Sustainable Product Framework, and adds to the bank’s growing portfolio of sustainable finance.” From 2021 to first-quarter 2025, Maybank PETALING JAYA: In a unique and land mark convergence of business, storytelling and digital streaming, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd recently launched The Ultimate Elevator Pitch – Malaysia’s first feature-length SME business pitch film focused on SME entrepreneurship in conjunction with World MSME Day. Alliance Bank also announced the return of the BizSmart Business Con ference for the second second year, which will be held in October. The documentary-style movie, which premiered exclusively on iQIYI, one of Asia’s leading OTT platforms, offers unprecedented, behind-the-scenes access to the Accelerator Edition of the BizSmart Challenge – Alliance Bank’s flagship SME development programme which celebrated 10 years in 2024. Viewers will experience the raw emotions, high-stakes pitches, intense questioning and pivotal breakthroughs that capture the real life drama of building a business in today’s fast-paced, volatile environment. Launched in 2013, the BizSmart Chal lenge was created to empower local entrepreneurs with access to funding, o Bank rolls out feature length business pitch movie focused on SMEs and this year’s edition of flagship event in BizSmart series

Maybank provides CP Group’s renewable energy unit Altervim with landmark green loan

From left: Maybank global banking deputy group CEO, Md Farid Kairi, Maybank corporate banking managing director Goh Sin Tat, Borvorn and Charoen Pokphand Malaysia CFO Teerapong Rojthip.

Malaysia is one of the key growth markets for Altervim, and this facility enables us to expand faster, deliver real carbon savings, and help businesses reduce their energy costs with green energy. We value Maybank’s strong support and look forward to working together in building a more resilient and sustainable future.”

as a group across the region mobilised RM125.46 billion in sustainable finance, exceeding its RM80 billion target by 2025. Meanwhile, Altervim chief financial officer, Borvorn Pienpongpanich said, “This green loan from Maybank represents a strategic partnership that empowers our clean energy vision across the region.

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