The nation is slowly but surely transitioning into a Covid-19 endemic phase with almost 95% of the adult population currently vaccinated. This shift will give the economy a much-needed boost as people return to their daily routines. 

With each passing day, we are seeing this more clearly. Shopping malls are packed on weekends, while rush hour traffic is now increasingly more common. Not to forget, since the recent uplifting of the interstate travel ban, Malaysia Airlines’ flights to Langkawi have already been fully booked until the end of the year.

For SME owners, the upcoming months will be crucial for rebuilding your business. If you’re ready to focus on recovery, you will need solutions that can improve your cash flow and better your business. Here are three areas SME owners should look into as we finally prepare to move beyond this challenging period.

Extra Financing

For starters, SME owners can explore financing aids provided by the government that will help them inject some capital where needed. Under Budget 2021, the PEMERKASA programme has mobilised a total of RM500 million in additional funds for providing small capital financing facilities for businesses (micro-credit) which are being disbursed through various agencies including TEKUN Nasional, SME Corp, and Bank Simpanan Nasional.   

SMEs have always been essential to the Malaysian economy and banking institutions are the main source of financing for SMEs, providing more than 90% of total financing. As the economy reopens, many business owners are taking this opportunity to drive business growth and might need higher financing. With this, SME owners who are seeking to purchase a property for their business or refinance their property could consider the Maybank SME Property and Business Financing-i, which provides up to RM5 Million financing and up to 120% Margin of Advance (MOA).

For example, if an SME owner intends to purchase a property priced at RM1,000,000, Maybank SME Property and Business Financing-i may disburse up to RM1,200,000 in total financing. The Bank will pay RM900,000 to the property developer or vendor and disburse an additional RM300,000 in the form of clean financing with no collateral required. This way, the SME owner will be able to finance the property and at the same time, obtain additional funds in the form of working capital for the business. 

Adopting New Technologies

The government has been supportive of helping businesses shift into the technology sphere through programmes like the SME Digitalisation Grant, which provides a 50% matching grant of up to RM5,000 to SMEs for the subscription of digital services that will enhance business competitiveness.

Adopting new technologies has a number of tangible benefits. For instance, QR-based payments and online payment gateway services make the payment process more efficient and secure. These days, QR-based payment services are commonplace – according to the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey 2021, almost 90% of Malaysians own at least one e-wallet. Customers need only to scan the QR code and the funds will immediately be transferred to your business account. For business-related payments, these new technologies can eliminate delayed receivables or collections that can impact your cash flow. 

Maybank Scan & Pay allows you to receive QR payments directly from your customers into your bank account without delay. QR payments can be easily set up for any business including pop-up and market stalls. To get started, just download the Maybank QRPayBiz app and sign up for free. In addition, you can also subscribe to services like Maybank Tap2Phone that allows you to accept debit or credit card payments on your Android smartphone with no external card reader device needed, offering another payment acceptance option.

In recent years, Malaysia has grown to become one of the biggest e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia. If you’re looking to hop onto the online bandwagon, opening a business account is crucial in helping you to record your business transactions and build a strong credit profile. To facilitate SME owners, business owners can conveniently open a Maybank business account online and activate the account at any preferred Maybank branch, no introducer is needed. The account is equipped with online banking solutions to ease business operations on the go with Maybank2u Biz available on web and app. The app is built with an invoicing tool, which allows you to issue professional-looking invoices in no time. This is just one of the features to keep business productivity more efficient. 

Localised Services

A consistent theme throughout the pandemic for SME owners includes the need to tap into technology and move their businesses online. To encourage local merchants, the Shop Malaysia Online campaign was introduced by the government in Budget 2021. Through this campaign, discount vouchers co-funded by the government, e-commerce platforms, and e-payment partners will be given to shoppers to encourage targeted online spending on local businesses. 

In keeping with the government’s efforts to help local SMEs adopt digitalisation, Maybank created Sama-Sama Lokal, a platform for you to keep 100% of your earnings with zero fees and commission. With more of us increasingly relying on the Internet to maintain our daily lives from purchasing groceries to ordering meals, it’s natural that many SMEs are eager to tap into this growing pool of potential consumers. With Sama-Sama Lokal, you get to move your F&B business to the digital space, instantly increase visibility to millions of Maybank customers across Malaysia, and expand your customer base without having to pay any fees or commissions.

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Over the past month, we’ve witnessed the gradual resumption of many social and economic sectors as we return to our daily routine albeit in a new normal. Hence, in the coming months, SME owners should tap into every resource available to them as they regain the reins of their businesses and on top of that, adapt it to suit the needs of a post-pandemic community. 

• TAGS:
• Maybank
• Maybank Sama-Sama Lokal
• Maybank Scan & Pay
• Maybank SME Property and Business Financing-i
• Maybank Tap2Phone
• Maybank2U Biz
• SME