KUALA LUMPUR: Curlec Sdn Bhd, a venture capital-backed financial technology (fintech) company, has a solution for businesses to collect recurring payments.
Through its Direct Debit payment mechanism, a system that is built on bank-to-bank payment technology allows merchants to collect payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts without involving card networks.
“We are the first company in Malaysia to provide an online debit solution for businesses to collect recurring payments and take control of their cash flow,” said Curlec co-founder and chief executive officer Zac Liew.
The company is facilitating transactions and intermediating between buyers, sellers and banks, making direct debit available to businesses of all sizes. It is also able to integrate with merchants’ existing software.
Curlec co-founder and director Steve Kucia said since the launch of Direct Debit in February, its business had doubled every quarter and the company had processed more than RM100 million worth of banking transactions through the platform.
“We think the market is very receptive. We believe there will be more online businesses and fintech firms use our services.
“We’ve seen our business double every quarter and we have a big addressable market to go after,” said Kucia.
Liew said the solution was applicable to the traditional industries and bricks-and-mortar businesses.
The company’s short-term plan is to focus on the Malaysian market by establishing solid footing, widening merchant base and educating the market on direct debit features.
Liew said Curlec’s direct debit was the answer to recurring payments such as bills, rentals, utilities and so forth.
For the longer term, the company is looking at Asia as Asian countries had inadequate mechanisms for payment collection.
“Our plan is to eventually expand to other countries within the region, especially Asia,” he said.