MobyPay Turns Everyday Payments Into Financing Signals for SMEs

For many small businesses, access to financing can still feel like a race against time.

Demand may be there, customers may be spending, and stock may need to move quickly, but funding often arrives too late or not at all.

Malaysia has made strong progress in financial inclusion, with 92% of Malaysians using digital financial services in 2024 and e-payment transactions per capita rising to 409.

Yet that progress has not fully solved the financing challenge for small and medium enterprises.

Applications still stall when smaller businesses cannot produce the documents, financial records or cash flow patterns lenders expect.

Roughly 24.6% of SME loan rejections are tied to insufficient documentation, while another 18.5% relate to inconsistent cash flow.

Collateral requirements and limited business track records add further pressure, especially when approvals miss peak periods such as festive seasons.

Together, these frictions contribute to a financing gap that exceeds RM21.5 billion.

Now, a growing number of fintech firms are relying on transaction activity and payment behaviour to assess merchants in a way traditional paperwork often cannot.

Seeing the Business Through the Merchant’s Lens

For MobyPay, the opportunity sits in helping lenders better understand how merchants operate.

Founded by Rian Philip, the company uses payment activity and business data to support faster, more informed financing decisions through its Islamic Banking-as-a-Service platform.

When the company began building alternative credit scoring models in 2018, fintech-led lending was still met with caution across the broader ecosystem.

That hesitation pushed the team to rethink its approach, expanding beyond credit scoring into a platform that reflects how merchants actually run their businesses.

Today, the platform supports more than 400,000+ Buy Now, Pay Later users and over 3,000+ merchants.

By using live transaction data instead of relying on delayed reporting, approvals are typically delivered within 24 to 48 hours.

“We look at the business from the merchant’s perspective and ask how we can increase their chances of business success,” said Rian Philip, Founder and CEO of MobyPay.

That mindset continues to shape the platform.

Rather than separating financial services into distinct layers, the platform brings payments, financing and risk management together, so merchants can make decisions with the right context.

This reflects a broader shift where financial services are expected to move at the same pace as commerce.

Making Sense of the Signals in Every Payment

At the centre of MobyPay’s model is a data strategy built around daily activity.

Instead of relying solely on traditional credit histories, the platform interprets payment behaviour to form a real-time view of a merchant’s financial position.

“Every payment is an event,” Rian pointed out.

For example, a small food stall may see sales rise sharply before Raya, slow down after the festive period, and pick up again when nearby offices reopen.

Those payment patterns tell a story that a static bank statement may not fully capture.

They show when demand rises, how often customers return, and whether the business has enough activity to support short-term financing

Over time, transactions reveal patterns that show how a business is performing beneath the surface.

Customer behaviour and business cycles all contribute to assessing risk and stability.

Continuous data capture enables faster decisions while maintaining regulatory oversight. regulators.

As digital adoption deepens, the value of these signals becomes harder to ignore.

More commercial activity is now visible in ways that were not possible before.

This visibility can change outcomes.

Audited records still dictate loan eligibility, creating barriers for businesses without extensive documentation.

Outdated financial information can make even stable businesses seem uncertain, so operational data helps close the gap.

Access to credit also intersects with broader inclusion challenges.

Around 73% of BNPL users in Malaysia fall within the B40 income group, linking alternative financing to lower-income segments.

Growth Through the Right Ecosystem

Product development has been central to MobyPay’s progress, but partnerships are equally important in driving market traction.

That is where ecosystem matters.

Partners like PayNet enable innovation to move from prototype to deployment.

One of the most visible examples of this effort is the PayNet Fintech Hub, launched in May 2025 to help promising fintech companies scale with the right resources, connections, and institutional support.

At its core, the Hub functions as a shared platform where fintechs, banks and infrastructure providers can test solutions in live conditions.

Robust infrastructure reduces friction between building and launching, letting fresh concepts reach the market almost instantly.

Since its launch, the Hub has supported 50 fintech startups and delivered more than RM5 million in ecosystem assistance.

Supports include funding through the PayNet Credit Fund, cloud infrastructure credits and advisory services to help founders navigate legal, financial and operational complexities.

These resources reflect a broader shift in how innovation is being nurtured in Malaysia.

Within this environment, MobyPay has built relationships that might otherwise take years.

Its collaboration with Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad focuses on expanding access to capital for underserved entrepreneurs.

Operational support also played a quieter but equally important role.

Shared services, co-working facilities and funding mechanisms reduce administrative strain, allowing smaller teams to focus on refining their products and strengthening customer relationships.

Preparing for Growth Beyond Local Borders

Infrastructure alone is not enough to sustain long-term growth. Companies also need perspective and discipline to scale beyond their initial market.

This led MobyPay to be among the chosen ones to join the PayNet Fintech Hub CATALYST programme, which the founders think and operate at a regional and global level.

The programme gives high-potential fintech founders exposure to global markets and scaling frameworks that would otherwise be difficult to access.

The ten-week accelerator,co-developed with Imperial College London, combines global insights with practical execution strategies tailored to regional realities.

A defining moment in the programme is the London immersion, where founders engage with global fintech ecosystems.

That exposure often reshapes how companies approach expansion, risk management and product design.

The programme encourages MobyPay to look outward while remaining grounded in the communities it serves.

provides a clearer framework for growth, not just in terms of technology, but also across partnerships, governance and long-term sustainability.

The lesson is simple: building a strong product is the first step; scaling it requires a supporting network.

Financial Inclusion Requires More Than Just Access

Malaysia’s financial inclusion efforts have largely expanded access to basic banking services.

Next is a deeper participation as more businesses operate digitally.

“Moby is an ecosystem that connects payment, lending and insurance in one stack.”

This integration changes how merchants make financial decisions.

Transactions, financing and risk now sit together, making it easier for businesses to respond to shifts in demand or cash flow without delay.

Market trends show businesses prefer solutions that fit directly into their day-to-day operations.

Malaysia’s BNPL sector is expected to reach RM10.16 billion by the end of 2025, growing at an annual rate of 15.1%.

This growth reflects a broader shift toward financial tools that support daily operations.

As these models take hold, financial management becomes less reactive, with decisions guided by real-time information.

Turning Innovation Into Lasting Capability

MobyPay’s trajectory reflects a broader shift in Malaysia’s financial innovation. Progress increasingly depends on ecosystem interaction, rather than isolated breakthroughs.

The PayNet Fintech Hub illustrates how coordination brings together regulators, financial institutions and technology providers within a shared framework.

For founders, this reduces friction from concept to execution.

Banks gain a structured setting to evaluate new approaches, while businesses benefit from services that are more closely aligned with their day-to-day realities.

That mindset reflects a broader shift in how fintech companies position themselves within the financial system.

The objective is not disruption but partnership that expands access and strengthens confidence across the ecosystem.

As Malaysia continues to build its digital infrastructure, the key question facing the industry is becoming increasingly clear.

Not whether financial inclusion is possible, but whether current systems can support future growth.

Malaysia’s payments landscape is already shifting, and the PayNet Fintech Hub helps make that shift scalable.

The question now is who is ready to build on it.

This article is part of an ongoing series spotlighting Malaysian fintechs building the future of finance through the PayNet Fintech Hub. Discover the Hub and more fintech startup journeys from Insureku, Cashku, Janjilah, Swipey, Kapitani, Blox, and IIMMPACT.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia based on an image by Achmad Khoeron via Freepik.