Capital A is currently in talks to sell off its majority stake of 99.56% in its financial technology arm BigPay. According to CEO Tony Fernandes, the company is looking to sell the ownership of the e-wallet to an undisclosed “very big” regional bank.
The CEO noted that BigPay remains the only loss-making entity among Capital A’s non-aviation businesses, explaining that the decision to sell the company is to address its capital needs. “It’s a good product, it just hasn’t had enough capital. So we’ve decided to sell the majority of Big Pay to a very big regional bank — we’re in negotiations. It’s not just the regional bank, there are some big regional fintech players and global players that are looking at it,” said Fernandes.
That being said, he noted that Capital A would like to still keep a 30% stake in BigPay, meaning that it won’t completely divest from the fintech company. Last month, the CEO said Capital A was seeking a partner to lead BigPay following internal management issues. “I’d rather concentrate on our top three businesses — Asia Digital Engineering, Teleport, and AirAsia Move,” he stated.
Fernandes has mentioned that the firm is also exploring on introducing Buy Now Pay Later services for travel as well as digital banking solutions to financial institutions across ASEAN. According to Capital A’s latest operating statistics, BigPay had over 1.6 million card holders by the end of 2024, up from 1.5 million at end-2023.
(Source: The Edge Malaysia)
