Progresif in partnership with BIBD today announced the launch of Progresif PAY, Brunei’s first mobile wallet from a telecommunications company, for over 180,000 Progresif customers, ushering in a new era of cashless payments into the Sultanate and establishing the first partnership of its kind in the region bringing banking and telecommunications together.
The launch of Progresif PAY, powered by BIBD NEXGEN, creates an alliance between Brunei’s most innovative mobile operator and Brunei’s best digital bank, at the forefront of branchless banking and mobile commerce by improving access and creating opportunities for greater commercial efficiency, diversification and development of Brunei’s digital economy.
The development is in line with the vision of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, for Wawasan 2035 which calls for a more dynamic and sustainable economy.
Present to officiate the launch as the guest of honour was the Minister of Communications YB Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof.
Progresif PAY will greatly increase the convenience for businesses and consumers to make transactions, pay bills, shop online and send money abroad securely and in real time, from the comfort of their mobile devices.
Consumers will also enjoy the proven digital capability and capacity of the BIBD NEXGEN infrastructure, enabling Progresif PAY through interoperability and open infrastructure for the first time by BIBD, to be part of a mobile-led business proposition moving BND $3 billion and $12 million transactions annually.
Parents can use Progresif PAY to send allowances to their children while young adults aged 15 years and above can use the wallet to better manage their finances. For businesses, the wallet can be used to accept payments as well as pay staff wages or suppliers directly into their Progresif PAY accounts.
The Progresif PAY application is powered by the BIBD NexGen infrastructure which allow Progresif and BIBD to work with, companies, institutions and individuals from different industries to develop branchless banking and FinTech related features and application to create value added services such as payment reminders, money management tools and virtual mobile marketplace.
Paul Taylor, Progresif’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Progresif PAY will change the way we make everyday purchases by transforming payments in a way never seen before in Brunei.”
“The partnership with BIBD brings their experience in financial security and digital transactions to the fast-growing innovative mobile service consumers of Brunei”.
“This is another example of how Progresif has expanded beyond the traditional definition of a telecommunications company. This time, we’re defining the standards for digitisation and e-Commerce with Brunei’s first mobile wallet,” he added.
In the last few years, Progresif has been focused on innovation throughout its business such as simplifying its pricing plans and removing the annual license fee, making communications simple affordable and more accessible, while expanding the network coverage and capacity with the goal of introducing 4G services.
In April 2017, Progresif opened its own Startup Lab to support the growth of local innovation and to assist startups in their development. A few months later, Progresif launched Brunei’s first app-based mobile radio station, to support the growing music and content production industry in Brunei.
Devin Edwards, Chief Marketing Officer of Progresif, said “Being progressive is about continuous improvement and this is reflected in all that we do, whether it’s about new products and services or showcasing our support for the local community.”
“We are thankful to BIBD for being a great strategic partner in the development and launch of Progresif Pay in collaboration with their Branchless Banking initiative. We look forward to working with them in their ongoing development of their NEXGEN banking services.”
With the introduction of Progresif PAY, Brunei is poised to join the market leaders of mobile payments, including China and Singapore, and adding more users to the pool of over 170 million mobile payment users in Asia.
Progresif PAY is now available for download on Android devices and is coming soon for Apple users. Drop by any Progresif store to activate Progresif PAY. Visit www.progresif.com to learn more about Progresif Pay.
