Author: Vincent Fong

TrueMoney, a payments player and a subsidiary of Ascend Money announced today their launch in Malaysia. During their press event, they also announced that they are now the “official payment” provider for all of Lotus’s hypermarket locations across the country. Despite the partnership, users are still able to use most competing e-wallets to pay at Lotus’s stores. Founded in 2003, TrueMoney operates in six countries and they claim to have the largest agent network with over 88,000 agents to seamlessly send money both domestically and internationally. Ascend Money and Lotus’s both share parentage with Thai-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group. TrueMoney’s…

On Friday, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) issued its exposure draft for digital insurance and takaful operators (DITO) for written feedback following the issuance of the Discussion Paper in January this year. As part of the licensing application process, BNM will require applicants to submit a comprehensive five-year business plan, which includes, among others, planned measures to effectively manage technology and cyber risks in delivering its products and services. BNM aims to finalise the Policy Document and invite applications for the licenses in 2023. Up to five licenses may be issued to applicants that meet all requirements. New Details on the…

These days everyone wants to be a super app from bigtechs to banks and even an airline company like Air Asia. It’s easy to see why, the allure of being able to deliver a plethora of services through a single app and creating a sticky value proposition for your users are certainly compelling reasons for companies to be drawn towards building super apps. The most recent addition to the list is Malaysia’s largest independent investment bank Kenanga Bank. In a closed-door media session, the bank revealed that they are targetting to launch a digital wealth super app by the first…

The Consumer Credit Oversight Board Task Force today issued the Consumer Credit Act consultation paper, the new act seeks to regulate and consolidate all consumer credit activities under its umbrella, and to promote fair lending and responsible conduct by credit providers. The task force is led by Ministry of Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia, and Securities Commission Malaysia in collaboration with Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Entrepreneur Development And Cooperation, and Companies Commission of Malaysia. The consultation paper is the first of a two-part consultation paper, which provides a broad overview…

The Malaysian financial services space is undergoing an interesting phase in its evolution, shifting consumer behaviors and entrants of new players are giving incumbent banks reasons to rethink their digital strategy. Many of Malaysia’s incumbent banks are actively looking at beefing up their digital strategy, spinning off a new digital banking unit, or partnering with fintechs. This is in part thanks to the 5 new digital banking licenses dished out by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). These new digital banks are anticipated to launch within the next 24 months. For Bank Islam’s CEO, Muazzam Mohamed, the route he has chosen is…

After a month of delay, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) finally announced the list of successful applicants. The framework which was first issued on 30th December 2020, was hotly contested and attracted 29 parties to bid for the licenses. The central bank said all 29 applications received were thoroughly assessed pursuant to section 10 (1) of FSA, and IFSA, which required BNM to consider all the factors in Schedule 5 of the Acts and other relevant policy requirements. The assessment criteria cover the character and integrity of applicants, nature and sufficiency of financial resources, soundness and feasibility of business and technology…

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today announced the launch of Malaysia’s five-year financial sector blueprint during the opening of MyFintechWeek 2022. The central bank has identified five strategic thrust that will anchor its efforts in the blueprint which includes; funding Malaysia’s economic transformation, elevating the financial well-being of households and businesses, advancing digitalisation of the financial sector, facilitating an orderly transition to a greener economy, and lastly, advancing value-based finance through thought leadership in Islamic finance. Commenting on the launch of the blueprint, Bank Negara Malaysia’s Governor, Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said, “While producing the blueprint has been a…

As we close the curtains on a turbulent year, it seemed fitting to reconnect with old friends, reflect on learnings for the year, and contemplate how to navigate a hopefully post-pandemic 2022. Which is why it was timely when the folks from Huawei invited me to moderate a session on financial services trends in 2022 at the Huawei Cloud Summit. Though I must admit, the organiser’s decision to have the event at Zouk in Genting certainly did pique my interest. During my panel discussion which was titled “How Will Financial Services Evolve in 2022”, I was joined by well-known industry…

When there are too many holes on a ship, plugging one does little – water continues flowing in from the rest. Over time, these holes collectively bring down the ship. When Razer announced last week it was suspending its e-wallet service Razer Pay, one cannot help but wonder if that was the case. When contacted, Razer Fintech’s CEO Li Meng Lee noted that the “Razer Pay e-wallet app was concepted as a testbed for Razer Fintech to better understand the e-wallet and scheme card ecosystem in Singapore and Malaysia.” The announcements plastered across various publications seems to indicate that despite…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today announced enforcement actions against Binance for illegally operating a crypto exchange in Malaysia. The regulator ordered Binance to immediately disable access to its website and app within 14 days from 26th July 2021, immediately cease all forms of media and marketing to investors and restrict Malaysian’s access to the Binance Telegram Group. The order is issued against its CEO Zhao Changpeng as well as Binance’s four registered entities in the Cayman Islands, UK, Lithuania, and Singapore. The regulator deems the public reprimand necessary as Binance has continued to operate illegally in Malaysia despite being…

Editor’s Note: This article was first written on 29th June 2021, was last updated at 11:00 am 5th August 2021 to include new developments. With the deadline for Malaysia’s digital banking license application being less than a day away, a majority of the players are surprisingly still coy about confirming their status. In markets like Hong Kong and Singapore who have similarly issued a digital banking framework, players were far more eager to thump their chest and publicise about how their spin on digital banking will reshape financial services. With the exception of a few players, most of the…

Bank Negara Malaysia confirmed today in a statement that it has received 29 applications for a digital bank licence under the Financial Services Act 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013, following a 6-month application period, which ended on 30 June 2021. The central bank said that a diverse range of parties have submitted applications for the digital bank licence, ranging from banks, industry conglomerates, technology firms, e-commerce operators, fintech players, cooperatives and state governments. Successful applicants that meet all prudential criteria will be expected to contribute towards greater financial inclusion by offering products and services to address market…

Following 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…

During a Fintech Fireside Asia chat session organised by Fintech News Malaysia today, Suhaimi Ali, Director of Innovation and Development at Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) tells digital bank applicants to respect the process. He highlighted that they are seeing a number of parties using their political connections to lobby and get a head start in the digital banking license process. In the session, he made clear that BNM’s main consideration remains on the applicants who are able to deliver value proposition and that the central bank prioritise outcomes. During the session, Suhaimi said, “I would like to communicate to all…

Australia Stock Exchange (ASX) listed IOUpay announced today the official launch of its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service, myIOU. IOUpay is a subsidiary of Malaysian technology firm iSentric who was best known within the industry for providing mobile banking solutions to local banks. Together with the launch, IOUpay announced partnerships with EasyStore, U Mobile’s GoBiz, Razer Merchant Services, and MYP1, which they claim gains them access to 75,000 merchants. Despite only announcing their launch today, IOUpay has been going on an aggressive media campaign claiming to have “first mover advantage” in Malaysia and a market leader in South East…

Last week, Bursa-listed Pertama Digital announced alternative financing operator Crowdo as its first consortium partner for its digital banking bid. Pertama Digital, through its subsidiary Dapat Vista, is primarily a digital payment platform focused on consumer-to-government payments with solutions like MyPay and eJamin. In a press statement sent to Fintech News Malaysia, they described their consortium partner Crowdo as an “SME-focused neobank with an AI-powered credit scoring engine for emerging markets within ASEAN” which quite frankly is a load of hot air and a really exaggerated way to describe a P2P lending operator. What is interesting is that in the…

Axiata and RHB today confirmed market rumours that have been floating around for months that they are in talks to jointly bid for Bank Negara Malaysia’s digital banking license. Boost Holdings, a subsidiary of Axiata Digital which houses the group’s digital financial services, will own a majority stake of 60% while RHB will own the remaining 40% in the digital bank, subject to approval from Bank Negara Malaysia. Axiata’s telco arm has also signed up as a major commercial partner on joint go-to-market activities with the digital bank on products and services which will benefit the customers of both parties.…

Axiata Group and Telenor Asia today confirmed in their press conference that they have revived merger plans of Celcom and Digi which is currently in advanced discussion stages. Compared to the previous merger talks which involve assets from other countries the current discussion is limited to their Malaysian assets. This story comes as Telenor divested their stake in their remittance business Valyou to Merchantrade. Each party will have equal ownership of estimated 33.1 % each. Axiata together with Malaysian institutional funds will own over 51% of the merged entity. The new entity will be named Celcom Digi Berhad and will…

Central bank-backed digital currencies (CBDCs) are rapidly on the rise, with 86% of central banks around the world researching the potential of CBDCs, 60% experimenting with the technology and 14% piloting the technology. CBDC is the digital form of fiat money and differs from existing virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in that they are issued by the state and backed by the government. Bank Negara Malaysia stated today in their newly published annual report that they are “actively building internal capacity to support informed decisions on CBDCs” which includes conducting POCs. Though they do not have any immediate plans to…

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) revealed during their annual report press conference today, that 2020 has seen heightened participation from retail investors. Datuk Syed Zaid Albar, Chairman of SC shared with members of the media that this was evidenced by the fact that retail investors made up 32.4% of total value traded in the stock market, which is significantly higher than the 5 year average. While he is pleased to see higher retail participation, Datuk Syed also cautioned investors to be savvy when trading during the press conference. “However, we have to warn that investors must be able to make informed…