Digital peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Funding Societies announced on September 29 that is has partnered with Razer Fintech, the fintech arm of gaming company Razer, to offer short-term business financing to merchants. The service will first be available in Malaysia before extending to other countries in Southeast Asia.
More than 20,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Malaysia will be connected to Funding Societies’ financing solutions via Razer Merchant Services (RMS), Razer Fintech’s business-to-business platform. Malaysian retailers, F&B vendors, and online sellers registered under the RMS platform will be among the first beneficiaries.
Eligible merchants will receive benefits such as fast disbursement with approval within 3 to 5 working days, flexible tenure between 6 to 18 months, and no collateral requirements.
“Having worked very closely with our merchants, via our RMS network, we understand the challenges MSMEs face, especially during these pandemic times. We found a great partner in Funding Societies with their capabilities of allowing financial access to small businesses in the region,” said Lee Meng Li, CEO of Razer Fintech, in a statement.
In January, Razer applied for the coveted digital full bank license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which is still processing. In an interview with KrASIA, Razer’s CEO Min-Liang Tan expressed his desire to build a global, digitized bank for young people.
The partnership is expected to propel economic growth for MSMEs, an underserved sector that has been hit hard by the pandemic.
Before teaming up with Razer, Funding Societies previously tapped e-commerce platform Lazada in 2019 to offer short-term and e-commerce financing for online merchants.
Funding Societies is present in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia under the brand Modalku.