Author: Vincent Fong

Note: We’ve update this report, the 2018 edition of the Fintech Report can be found here In the context of conversations surrounding fintech opportunities in South East Asia, Malaysia is often overlooked in lieu of Singapore. While it is true that the environment in Singapore is conducive for fintech to flourish, one should not dismiss Malaysia and its potential. The Fintech Malaysia Report intends to provide a comprehensive overview about the fintech landscape in Malaysia. Malaysia’s population over 30 million strong that largely digitally savvy, making them a prime captive audience for fintech innovations. Increasingly we see more incumbents,…

In his opening speech at the Islamic Fintech Forum Dialogue, Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia Mr. Marzunisham Omar called the Islamic Finance industry to take a more active role in fintech. According to the Assistant Governor, digital-banking consumers stand at an estimated 670 million in Asia alone and are expected to reach 1.7 billion by 2020. “The case is compelling for Islamic finance to take on a more prominent role in the fintech ecosystem. The technology is ripe, with higher penetration of mobile and internet across markets.”he then added. Marzunisham believes that with a diverse population and a growing middle…

Abrar A. Anwar is the new CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia. Standard Chartered Bank is Malaysia’s first bank, set-up back in 1875, with global operations hub named Scope International which provides support to across 70 countries that Standard Chartered Bank operates in. While Standard Chartered has been seen launching several fintech initiatives around the global locally their activities are largely limited to their partnership with Supercharger which started out as a regional initiative. New CEO’s typically spell out new directions for large organisations like Standard Chartered Bank. We felt it’d be a good opportunity to take a look at Abrar…

Fintech is a space that we’ve been operating in for the past eight years and a space we have observed for an even longer time. It is truly an exciting space to be in at this day and age. Years ago, subjects related to fintech and banking technology were highly esoteric. Speak to anyone outside the industry about the subject and you’ll be met with blank stares. However that is not the case today. Fintech has become such a topic of interest and this is driven largely due to demands from consumers for faster, cheaper and more efficient banking services.…