Maybank and American Express have signed a business transfer agreement related to the sale and licensing of American Express' consumer card, corporate card and merchant acquiring service business in Malaysia.
The agreement provides a framework for discussion between the two parties to eventually enter into a final independent operator agreement, in which Maybank will be the issuer and manager of the charge card and merchant acquiring business of American Express in Malaysia. Under a separate arrangement, Maybank has been issuing the Maybank-American Express credit card in its domestic market since December 2003.
Pending the finalization of the agreement, there will be no change to the business or operations of both American Express and Maybank’s credit card business in Malaysia.
Lee Siew Lee, country manager for American Express in Malaysia, commented: We remain committed to the market and in fact our partnership with Maybank will help us to expand our brand franchise by combining our global brand strengths with Maybank’s local market expertise and distribution network. We will work closely with Maybank to ensure a seamless transition at the end of the BTA process.