Vcash

vcash is a defunct Malaysian digital wallet and online payment platform. It was established in Shah Alam in November 2017 by Digi Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Telenor Group.[1] Prior to the closure of vcash, it was one of three financial division which was managed by Telenor, the other being Telenor Microfinance Bank in Pakistan, which was acquired by Telenor in 2008,[3] and Mobi Banka (formerly Telenor Banka) in Serbia, which was acquired in September 2014.[4]

vcash
Type of site
e-wallet
Available inEnglish
Founded10 November 2017 (2017-11-10)[1]
Dissolved30 November 2019 (2019-11-30)[2]
HeadquartersShah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
OwnerDigi Telecommunications (Telenor Group)
Key peoplePraveen Rajan (Digi CDO)
Kathryn Lee (Product lead)[1]
URLhttps://vcash.my at the Wayback Machine (archived May 16, 2019)
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
Current statusInactive

vcash allows users to make payment in local in-store via QR code, pay bills, top-up prepay mobile phone, and P2P transfer.[5] Despite its being a Digi product, the user registration and usage of this service are not limited to Digi customers only, but also opens up to other non-Digi customers as well.[1] It mainly competes against GrabPay,[2] Touch 'n Go eWallet and Axiata's Boost.[6]

On 1 November 2019, Digi announces that vcash will be discontinued on 30 November 2019, two years after its launch.[5]

History

vcash was officially launched by Digi Telecommunications on 10 November 2017 in collaboration with Valyou Sdn Bhd, a e-cash issuing company which were authorized by Central Bank of Malaysia.[1] At that time of launch, vcash currently has 500 touch points and 80 merchants nationwide[7] which accepts vcash payments and has plans to expand their services to be supported on more than 2000 merchants in the end of 2017.[8] Digi claims that their transaction fee rate is at 0.8%, which is much lower compared to the competing e-wallet services in Malaysia during that time.[7]

On 6 August 2018, Digi partners with AmBank to allow vcash to be accepted on merchants with AmBank point-of-sale terminal.[9]

Services
User account tier level[10][11]
Tier level Maximum cash storage Verification
Basic RM 500 No
Enhanced RM 2500 Required with MyKad
Premium RM 5000

vcash is used in smartphones with their vcash app. It utilizes QR code technology as the payment methods for the local in-store payments. However, unlike those competing services which users are required to show random QR code generated on their app to be scanned by merchant, vcash instead provide QR code in premise which allows users to scan the QR code in their app to make payment.[2] The vcash also provides features such as utility bills payment, P2P transfer and prepay mobile phone top-up.[5]

vcash also allows online check-out on merchant and e-commerce websites which its payment system is powered by iPay88 and MOLPay online payment gateway networks.[8]

User can deposit their cash to their vcash account by deposit cash at counter in Digi store or deposit with credit or debit cards via FPX or JomPAY online gateway services,[8] while user can withdraw their cash from their vcash account to their Maybank account or collect their cash at Digi store with minimum fee.[2]

Closure

On 1 November 2019, Digi announces that it will discontinue the operation and development of vcash on 30 November 2019, after having operated for two years since the introduction.[5] It is also become one of the first e-wallet service in Malaysia to become defunct. All affected users of vcash are eligible to request for refund all the balance that remains inside their account.[2]

The closure of vcash was attributed by the stiff competition from competing e-wallet services which has stronger venture capital financing than vcash, hence vcash is experiencing decline of number of active users in their service on a quarterly basis. When contacted with Digi by RinggitPlus regarding the closure, Digi stated that the closure of vcash was simply for change in business strategy purpose.[12] Two days after closure of vcash, Praveen Rajan, CDO of Digi, states that the e-wallet market in Malaysia were too competitive due to each competing services providing rewards, cashback program and heavy subsidies to their users in order to retain their customers in their services, which he stated these tactics were used as their main value proposition.[13]

Reception

Market share

According to the data from App Annie and iPrice, vcash was briefly ranked fifth in the top five e-wallet applications in Malaysia by monthly active users in first quarter of 2018 before disappearing completely from top five on 2018 second quarter onward. In addition, since its release, vcash managed to rank fifth in top five e-wallet application in Malaysia by total app downloads in fourth quarter of 2017. It later jumped to third place in the first quarter of 2018, only to fall to fifth place in the second quarter of 2018 before completely disappearing from the top five in third quarter of 2018.[14]

Merchant response
A signage in pharmacy at Brickfields showing vcash is accepted in this shop

Some merchants who are the early adopter of vcash views the adoption of e-wallet positively. Merchants praises the low transaction fees rate for each transaction that has been made by customers, while stating that the adoption of e-wallet allows the queueing time to be shorten, improve service experience at reduced costs, and better understanding of customers behavior through analytical tool.[15]

Support from government

Ministry of Youth and Sports supports this e-wallet initiative by enabling vcash as a preferred cashless payment platform at their headquarters, its restaurants and gym in February 2018. Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister during that time stated that the adoption of e-wallet as a payment system allows Malaysia to driven towards goal to become a cashless nation.[16]

See also

References
  1. Sidhu, B. K. (2017-11-10). "Digi goes into mobile payment business with vcash". The Star. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  2. Wong, Alexander (2019-10-31). "One of Malaysia's first eWallets bites the dust". SoyaCincau. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  3. Ali, Meiryum (2019-12-08). "Telenor investigates Rs514m fraud in microfinance bank". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  4. "Telenor launches bank in Serbia". CommsUpdate. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  5. Hassan, Hakim (2019-10-30). "Digi shuts down VCash e-wallet solution". The Rakyat Post. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  6. Lee, Rory (2017-11-09). "Digi may have introduced the best mobile payment solution in Malaysia". SoyaCincau. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  7. Sidhu, B. K. (2017-11-09). "Digi launches 'vcash' mobile payment app". The Star. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  8. "DIGI LAUNCHES VCASH E-WALLET". Digital News Asia. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  9. "AmBank and Digi partner to lower barriers for SMEs to adopt e-payments". The Star. 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  10. Nair, Sharmila (2018-05-14). "No money, no problem". The Star. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  11. "vcash, a new Mobile Payment Application from Digi". Malaysian Wireless. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  12. Tun Yau, Pang (2019-11-01). "vcash E-Wallet To Cease Operations From 1 December 2019". RinggitPlus. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  13. Tan, Royce (2019-12-02). "Leaders in e-wallet emerge". The Star. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  14. Chew, Jeremy (2019-10-29). "Which E-wallet App Do Malaysians Use Frequently?". iPrice. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  15. "Growing trend for e-payment". The Star. 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  16. "Sports Ministry and Digi in cashless payment solution". The Star. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
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