Grab Confirms Digital Banking Bid in Malaysia with Singtel and “Malaysian Investors”
by Vincent Fong July 1, 2021Following statements issued by Singtel to Singaporean press, Grab confirms that it has applied for a digital banking license through a joint venture between Grab and Singtel as part of a consortium of other Malaysian investors.
The Grab-Singtel consortium had also previously successfully bid for a digital banking license in Singapore.
It’s worth noting that Bank Negara Malaysia’s digital banking licensing framework specifically highlighted a preference where the controlling equity in the license digital bank are held by Malaysians.
In a statement that was sent to Fintech News Malaysia, Grab did not confirm the other Malaysian parties that are part of this consortium. The company said that it aims to continue spurring economic empowerment for Malaysians through their digital bank. In doing so, they said that they will draw from their track record with their digital solutions as well as a digital financial services in payments, lending, insurance, and rewards.
Grab is among the many players who have announced their digital banking ambition, with the deadline having closed yesterday, we anticipate more announcements to come in the next few days.
Here’s a list of all the contenders we know of so far, and we will be updating this regularly.
