The consortium comprising AEON Credit alongside its parent company AEON Financial Service and neobank MoneyLion has secured an Islamic digital banking license in Malaysia.
Initially, AEON Credit and AEON Financial Service shall each hold 45% equity interest in the proposed digital bank, with the remaining 10% equity to be held by MoneyLion.
According to a report by The Edge Markets, the Islamic digital bank is set to launch its operations in two years and this is subject to its operational readiness following a review by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
The proposed digital bank would bring to the table the combined expertise of all three companies in providing financial services and solutions to customers, especially from the low and middle-income segments, under regulatory environment in various countries.
AEON Credit is part of AEON Group, a household brand name in Malaysia, in both retail and mall operations and financial services, with a strong ecosystem built up close to 40 years.
The company has been serving the underserved market segments since its incorporation in 1996 and has enhanced its operations to support its customers’ lifestyle for the last 25 years.
Meanwhile, MoneyLion has established itself as a full-service digital platform that delivers mobile banking, investment solutions and personalised solutions to middle class Americans since its launch in 2013.
They will be the main artificial intelligence, data analytics and technology provider for the digital bank.
The consortium had earlier applied for a digital bank license in 2021 with the aim of enabling wider access to financial services for the underserved and unserved market segments.
BNM had announced the five recipients of the digital banking licenses last Friday after a month of delay.
“We are indeed excited and privileged to have obtained the approval for an Islamic digital bank license and be part of Malaysia’s journey in advancing its financial inclusion agenda. AEON Group and MoneyLion share the same vision and aspiration of elevating communities in which we operate.
We believe we are able to provide digital banking experience to our customers, supported by the expertise of MoneyLion in designing and building a digital financial platform,”
said Daisuke Maeda, Managing Director of AEON Credit.
“At present, MoneyLion Malaysia employs close to 300 engineers and data scientists in Kuala Lumpur who develop both the interface and underlying technology powering the award-winning MoneyLion app, catering to millions of users in the United States.
We invest in the fore-front of artificial intelligence technology powering end-to-end solutions from credit underwriting, fraud detection, design, and product operations since day one of our establishment.”
said Foong Chee Mun, Co-founder of MoneyLion.
