MALAYSIAN CONSUMERS SEEK BETTER TOOLS TO MANAGE THEIR SPENDING

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysian consumers are seeking for
better tools to manage their spending, according to a MasterCard survey
conducted by Harris Interactive.

The survey, conducted between December last year and January this year, was
carried out with 2,416 respondents across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand, the Philippines and India.

In a statement Thursday, MasterCard said in Malaysia, specifically, amongst
401 respondents, 83 per cent expressed excitement over the service, 66 per cent
are likely to sign up for the service when it was available, 47 per cent
affirmed that they would switch to a payment card that provides such a service
if their current cards did not offer it while 82 per cent said they would use
their payment card more frequently if such a service was available on it.

In order to meet consumer demand in South East and South Asia from the
second half of this year, MasterCard will be launching inControl.

MasterCard inControl provides a safer and more secure solution to these
cardholders by giving them the ability to create temporary online shopping card
numbers for use on when they want to make purchases online.

With this service, MasterCard cardholders are also able to determine the
maximum spend per online shopping card number, limiting their online exposure.

David Chan, Head of Customer Delivery, South East and South Asia, MasterCard
Worldwide, said inControl would give consumers and businesses more choices,
greater control and added security when managing their finances.

"We are pleased to be the first in the payments industry to launch this
innovative tool across South East and South Asia," he said.

In 2010, e-Commerce transactions for MasterCard grew by 46 per cent
year-on-year in South East and South Asia markets.