Malaysian Online Payment Platform For Merchant Transactions

When Billplz was founded in 2012, more and more online purchases and payments were made.

This stimulated demand for payment platforms and resulted in double-digit year-over-year growth, CEO Nazroof Hakim told Vulcan Post. "Most, however, were unsatisfactory in terms of both cost and payment speed," he added.

Billplz's mission was to enable companies to pay and get paid the fastest and at the lowest possible cost.

Its position in the online payment ecosystem

When I got into that, I was still pretty confused about what Billplz was. It is a payment platform that is very different from a payment gateway. Nazroof has divided the online payment ecosystem into four levels, with Billplz on the outermost level (level 4).

Photo credit: Billplz

In the core (layer 1) you would have local payment networks like PayNet and JomPay as well as local payment systems like Boost and Touch & # 39; n Go eWallet.

Layer 2 consists of global payment networks like Visa and American Express, while Layer 3 has payment gateways like ipay88 and senangPay.

“We enable our dealers to choose the supplier / processor at all levels in which they want to integrate,” Nazroof simplified.

“For example, we can integrate a merchant directly into an acquiring bank so that the merchant receives a real-time payout for FPX. At the same time, we can integrate the same merchant with one of our gateway partners to accept card payments. "

This allows merchants flexibility in choosing payment providers without having to deal directly with each provider if they need a change.

Bring new value to the industry

Since Billplz is a payment platform, payment gateways like the aforementioned ipay88 and senangPay are not seen as competitors, but rather as actors who paved the way for the industry.

In fact, Billplz is now helping them sell their products. While these players only focus on collecting payments, the Billplz team ensures that their solution can replace repetitive manual tasks, not only at the transaction level, but also with reconciliation and back office functions.

Dictionary time: During the reconciliation, transactions and activities are compared with the supporting documentation. In addition, the reconciliation includes the rectification of any discrepancies that have been identified. Back office functions include billing, approvals, record keeping, regulatory compliance, bookkeeping, and IT services performed by administrative and support staff.

Financial reporting / Investopedia

With that, Nazroof was saying that they actually don't have to see an online payment platform with the same purpose as them and the same integration model yet.

The startup can serve businesses of all sizes, he added, and some of the bigger ones they've worked with include Bendahari Negeri Kedah for iBayaQ, a state-owned online payment gateway owned by Kedah, and E-Wallet Boost to provide real-time FPX payouts.

He proudly announced that one of their most important functions for all members is the collection folder, which allows merchants to differentiate between multiple sources of income or payment channels.

“For example, a retailer can have multiple websites or campaigns. Instead of registering for a new bank account or opening a new Billplz account, they can simply create their own folder to distinguish the different streams of money flowing into the same organization's bank account. "

There is no going back

For several early years since its inception, Billplz was still at an experimental stage. It was a boost from investments from MAVCAP and 500 startups that sped their growth in 2015, Nazroof recalled along with help from MaGIC.

In 2014, MaGIC sent the founders of Billplz, Nazroof and Arzumy, to Silicon Valley for two weeks as part of the e @ Stanford program.

This prepared the founders to make decision-making easier, to look at problems and problems from different angles and to stimulate innovation. Thanks to the opportunities the startup had as an e @ Stanford alumnus, they were able to work with other alumni such as Exabytes, SoftSpace, GoGet.my and others today.

The Billplz team / Photo credits: Billplz

Nazroof announced that Billplz will shortly be introducing new products and services with one concept: automation. He wants to further simplify the interaction between consumers and retailers across multiple industries.

"We have just launched our payment order API, which allows merchants to transfer money from their Billplz bank account to other bank accounts in real time. We are currently looking into integration with Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL)."

Now they are looking into risk debt for local acquisitions and planning to expand into Singapore and Indonesia.

2020 was a productive year for Billplz. One of their accomplishments was the collection of RM 3 billion gross merchandise value (GMV), which tripled its GMV of RM 1 billion in 2019. This was a direct result of the change in consumer buying behavior during the pandemic.

Whether these changes in the online payments landscape will continue, Nazroof said: “Yes, definitely. Just like another important technical milestone. There is no going back. Similar to paying online, once business owners experience the efficiency, they will not return. "

• You can find out more about Billplz here.
• Read more about what we wrote about fintech here.

Selected image source: Nazroof Hakim, CEO of Billplz