Malaysia’s fintech scene has been picking up a steady pace in 2025, with meaningful strides leading the way.
Growth this year has been shaped by continued traction in digital payments, early signals from newly launched digital banks, and clearer regulatory direction in areas like consumer credit, data sharing, and digital assets.
This shift is visible across the ecosystem. RENTAS+ made Malaysia the first in ASEAN to offer 24/7 interbank fund transfers and settlements, while the signing of the George Town Accord 2025 cemented the nation’s leadership in building the region’s next-generation of payment rails.
Meanwhile, Paywatch secured one of the year’s notable funding rounds at US$20 million, but that figure pales in comparison to Singapore’s top funding round of US$300 million.
These developments point to a market that is advancing, but with clear gaps that still separate it from more mature fintech hubs.
What are the major trends, numbers, and regulatory moves shaping Malaysia’s fintech trajectory in 2025 and what should industry leaders anticipate next?
All Five Digital Banks Are Live. Now the Real Battle Begins.
All five of Malaysia’s digital banks: GXBank, Boost Bank, Ryt BANK, AEON Bank, and KAF Digital Bank, are now fully operational, each moving into its next phase of rollout in 2025.
Ryt Bank debuted as Malaysia’s first AI-powered digital bank, introducing RYT AI, a banking assistant built on ILMU, the country’s first homegrown large language model.
The bank also added a Chinese language option to its app recently, complementing existing Bahasa Malaysia and English interfaces to improve accessibility for a wider segment of Malaysians.
KAF Digital Bank launched in August following the completion of its PERINTIS phase. Built on Temenos SaaS and hosted on Microsoft Azure, its implementation covers core banking, digital banking, payments, analytics, and data capabilities.
GXBank continues to lead in customer deposits, commanding RM2.16 billion as of September 2024.
AEON Bank, meanwhile, expanded its Islamic banking offerings to businesses in August and partnered with foodpanda to extend financial access through micro-financing for riders and financing solutions for merchants.
Boost Bank also strengthened its SME proposition, disbursing nearly RM150 million in SME financing. It further expanded into digital motorbike loans through a tie-up with DCAP Digital.
6.5 Million Malaysians Use BNPL, Almost Every Day
Malaysia’s BNPL market continues to surge, reaching 6.5 million active account holders as of H1 2025, according to the CCOB. Although there are 16 BNPL providers in the country, more than 90% of active users are concentrated on three platforms: SPayLater at 56.5%, Atome at 26.5%, and PayLater by Grab at 8.3%.
Youth adoption remains a major driver of this growth, with individuals aged 30 and below accounting for around 40% of total BNPL transactions by volume and value.
Most BNPL users rely on it for everyday spending rather than large purchases, reflected in an average transaction value of below RM100. Popular categories include food, retail shopping, transportation, and personal services.
In August, ShopeePay’s “Fikir Sekarang, Bayar Kemudian” campaign offered a deeper look into user behaviour. From a survey of roughly 40,000 SPayLater users, 81% said they turn to BNPL in emergencies, 63% previously relied on informal lending such as pawn shops or unlicensed loans, and 55% lacked access to other forms of credit entirely.
To conclude, the picture points to a market where demand remains strong, but the landscape is consolidating rapidly around a small group of dominant BNPL players.
Malaysians Make At Least One E-Payment Transaction a Day
Compared to a decade ago, when Malaysians made just one e-payment transaction a week, the average Malaysian now makes at least one e-payment a day. In fact, chances are that if you ask most Malaysians whether they prefer cash or cashless, the answer is almost always the latter.
Online banking remains the most widely used channel, recording 24% growth in 2024. E-wallet usage is also strong, with 64% of all e-money transactions attributed to e-wallets.
As of end-2024, Malaysia recorded 2.6 million registered DuitNow QR acceptance points. Reflecting this wider merchant adoption,
DuitNow QR transactions more than doubled to 770 million in 2024 from 360 million in 2023, excluding person-to-person and cross-border QR transactions.
Malaysia’s Fintech Map Continues to Expand
Fintech News’ trademark fintech map now charts 360 active fintech firms in Malaysia, a notable rise from 289 players in 2024. Payments remains the largest category with 81 companies, followed by the e-wallet segment with 43 providers.
Lending also holds strong with 32 firms, while cross-border payments and alternative finance each account for 29 companies. The blockchain segment rounds out the top clusters with 25 active players.
Key Insights Behind Malaysia’s Fintech Acceleration
This article offers just a snapshot of how Malaysia’s fintech landscape has accelerated in 2025. The momentum is unmistakable, but the bigger story lies in the data, trends, and policy signals that will shape Malaysia’s next phase of growth.
The Malaysia Fintech Report 2025 by Fintech News Malaysia dives deeper, breaking down the year’s biggest funding movements, the Consumer Credit Act, the progress of digital wealth adoption and other developments in the ecosystem.
Download the full report to access exclusive insights on Malaysia’s fintech scene.
| Download the full Malaysia Fintech Report 2025 |
Other Resources You Might Be Interested In
Curious about other Asian fintech startup maps and reports? Here’s a handy guide looking at the fintech startup maps in Asia by country.
and the fintech startups report in Asia by country.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia based on image by DC Studio on Freepik
