The Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency, or commonly known as Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK), is an agency set up by Bank Negara Malaysia in April 2006 to help individuals take control of their financial situation and gain peace of mind that comes from the wise use of credit.

As we all know, the financial standing of the majority of Malaysians has been deeply impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020. The Money Services Business (MSB) industry which today consists of about 257 Class C members (money exchange) out of 296 licensees have suffered almost 90% loss in their businesses with almost non-existent currency exchange transactions and tourism influx in the country.

With that in mind, MAMSB believes that our members will need advice on prudential financial planning and debt management to assist them to move forward in their loan repayments. We invited AKPK to engage with our members in two (2) virtual sessions.

The first session was held on 2 August for the Central region and close to 80 members attended. The next session targeted the Northern, Southern, East Coast and East Malaysia regions and close to 70 Members attended the two-hour session.

This SME Pocket Talk session was presented by Ms Veronica Kow, Deputy Manager of the AKPK KL Branch. The session covered topics on SMEs & the economy, challenges & assistance avenues, AKPK’s value propositions for SMEs such as Small Medium Enterprise Help Desk, Small Debt Resolution Scheme, Online Learning and Future services.