HSBC Malaysia has opened a new Premier Centre in Petaling Jaya as part of its efforts to expand its affluent banking and wealth management services in the country. Located on the ground floor of the bank’s Petaling Jaya branch, the centre features private consultation rooms and a family room, offering a more personalised and discreet banking environment for HSBC Premier customers. The bank said the facility is designed to support clients with wealth accumulation, protection and legacy planning. The Premier Centre brings together HSBC’s wealth and international banking services, giving customers access to investment products such as unit trusts, bonds…

Raja Datin Paduka Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz may be set to exit AEON Bank, as Bank Islam Malaysia reportedly considers her for its top leadership role, according to people familiar with the matter. According to The Star, she is among the candidates being evaluated to succeed Datuk Mohd Muazzam Mohamed as Group CEO. Muazzam stepped down from the position on 31 December 2025, after seven years leading Bank Islam. Any appointment will require approval from Bank Negara Malaysia, which must formally endorse senior management changes at licensed banks. If Raja Teh is appointed, it would mark another senior leadership…

We’ve moved from Cash to Cards, and Cards to QR. Is your face the next wallet? Or will “Tap to Pay” on smartphones dominate the future of payments in Asia? Fintech News Network Chief Editor Vincent Fong sits down with Sam Su, CMO of SUNMI, to debate the future of payment hardware. While “Face Pay” has seen massive adoption in China, Southeast Asia is still a battleground between QR codes and the rapidly rising “SoftPOS” (Tap to Pay) technology. In the same interview Sam also revealed to us the future direction of SUNMI.

ShopeePay has increased its wallet limit to RM30,000 in Malaysia, raising the ceiling for how much verified users can store and spend through the platform. The wallet limit has been raised from RM9,999 and applies automatically to all existing users who have completed electronic know-your-customer verification. New users, as well as existing users who have yet to complete e-KYC, will gain access to the higher limit once verification is completed. ShopeePay said the RM30,000 cap represents the highest wallet limit currently offered by an e-wallet in Malaysia. The update also raises the daily transaction limit to RM30,000 from RM9,999. Monthly…

In this interview, Fintech News Network Chief Editor, Vincent Fong sits down with Roger Wang (Huawei) and Wizard Hee (Netis Technologies) to uncover how the Huawei RongHai Program is helping banks skip years of development time. From the “Gandalf” project in Singapore to migrating core banking systems in less than 10 months, we explore why over 150 fintech partners have joined forces with Huawei to build the future of banking infrastructure.

Ryt Bank users can now add their debit cards to Google Pay for in-store contactless payments. The integration allows Ryt Card holders to make tap-and-pay transactions using Google Wallet at supported terminals. For transactions above RM250, users are required to set a personal identification number through the Ryt Bank mobile app. The Ryt Card, which runs on the Visa network, is issued as both a physical and virtual card. Cardholders can manage spending limits, receive real-time transaction alerts, and freeze or unfreeze their cards instantly through the app. The card offers unlimited 1.2 percent cashback on overseas in-store spending, does…

Instapay Technologies is using Alibaba Cloud’s local cloud infrastructure in Malaysia to run its digital payroll and payments platform. The move is intended to strengthen service reliability, meet regulatory requirements, and support the fintech’s expansion. The infrastructure is designed to maintain uptime during periods of high transaction volumes while optimising resource use to reduce operational overhead. It also supports faster service rollouts as Instapay scales its offerings. Instapay provides an e-wallet and prepaid Mastercard used by employers to digitalise payroll for workers without access to traditional banking services, including migrant and blue-collar workers. Malaysia is a major destination for migrant…

Jelawang Capital has opened applications for the second cohort of its Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme, introducing a rolling submission model that allows year-round entries. The programme is supported under Dana Impak, an initiative by Khazanah Nasional, and is run by its subsidiary, Jelawang Capital, Malaysia’s national fund-of-funds. Through the programme, Jelawang invests in Malaysian venture capital fund managers to support early-stage investment activity. Khazanah Managing Director Dato’ Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said, “We are pleased to invite applications for the EMP second cohort 2026, now enhanced with all-year round submissions. Since the selection of the first three EMP fund managers…

TNG Digital and Ant International have launched EPOS360 in Malaysia, rolling out an all in one digital and payments platform to help SMEs adopt AI and modern payment tools. EPOS360 is available as a mini programme within the TNG eWallet app, allowing merchants to manage payments, marketing and other business functions in one place. Merchants will be able to reach more than 25 million TNG eWallet users nationwide through the platform The platform includes AI powered tools such as a Copilot feature that can generate digital menus from photos or descriptions. It also supports marketing campaign creation, voucher design and…

Ryt Bank’s CEO Melvin Ooi will be stepping down from the digital bank, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Wilson Soon, will reportedly take on the role of acting CEO. Melvin took on the top role in November 2022 and was involved in shaping the bank’s strategy ahead of its market entry, including overseeing regulatory engagement and the early development of its products and operations. Prior to joining Ryt Bank, he was CEO of BonusKad Loyalty, Country Manager for Alipay in Singapore and Indonesia, and spent more than a decade with American Express in…

Fasset will appoint Rafiza Ghazali as Managing Director for Consumer Banking as it advances plans for regulated consumer and SME banking services. The appointment takes effect on 1 February 2026. This follows conditional approval from Malaysia’s Labuan Financial Services Authority under the Labuan i-BOX regulatory sandbox for Islamic digital banks. Rafiza has more than two decades of experience in central banking, capital markets, Islamic finance and digital banking. She led the end-to-end establishment and launch of KAF Digital Bank, overseeing the bank from initial setup through full operations. In her new role, she will drive Fasset’s global stablecoin-led consumer banking…

CoinGecko has reportedly appointed Moelis to advise on a potential sale that may value the crypto data firm at around US$500 million, according to CoinDesk. The process only began late last year and one person familiar with the discussions said it is too early for a firm valuation to be set. Interest in the business comes as crypto dealmaking rebounds. PitchBook data cited by CoinDesk shows disclosed mergers and acquisitions reached about US$8.6 billion across 133 transactions in 2025, exceeding the combined value of the previous four years. Major transactions included Coinbase’s US$2.9 billion purchase of derivatives exchange Deribit and…

Digital banking in Asia was supposed to change the world. Five years later, did it live up to the hype? In this in-depth retrospective, Vincent Fong (Chief Editor, Fintech News Network) sits down with David Becker (Managing Director, Head of APAC Sales, Mambu) to unpack the last five years of the digital banking boom. They discuss why the predicted “death of traditional banks” never happened, how incumbents managed to adapt so quickly, and why the real revolution is happening in rural financial inclusion rather than just glossy apps. From the technical challenges of cloud-native infrastructure to the “boring but important”…

BigPay has linked its app to Bank Rakyat’s BRICK platform, giving users a new way to access information and apply for Shariah-compliant personal financing. Users who select the financing option in the BigPay app are directed to Bank Rakyat’s BRICK virtual banking platform, where they can view details of the product and submit their applications. Vijayanathan Sockanathan, Chief Operating Officer of BigPay, said, “This partnership reinforces BigPay’s mission to help Malaysians gain access to Islamic financing and make smarter and more informed financial decisions. Together with Bank Rakyat, we are giving financing greater transparency and accessibility directly through the BigPay…

Rafiza Ghazali has stepped down from her role as Chief Executive Officer of KAF Digital Bank. She will officially conclude her employment with the Islamic digital bank on 31 January 2026. During this transition, Suzaini Mokhtar has been appointed as the Acting CEO. Rafiza has led KAF Digital Bank since June 2022 and played a key role in steering the lender through its regulatory approval and market entry phases. The bank opened to the Malaysian public in August last year after receiving approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to begin onboarding customers following the completion of its PERINTIS phase. The digital…

Digital banking in Asia was supposed to change the world. Five years later, did it live up to the hype? In this in-depth retrospective, Vincent Fong (Chief Editor, Fintech News Network) sits down with David Becker (Managing Director, Head of APAC Sales, Mambu) to unpack the last five years of the digital banking boom. They discuss why the predicted “death of traditional banks” never happened, how incumbents managed to adapt so quickly, and why the real revolution is happening in rural financial inclusion rather than just glossy apps. From the technical challenges of cloud-native infrastructure to the “boring but important”…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has announced the appointment of Dato’ Seri Ahmad Johan Mohammad Raslan as the non-executive Chairman of its Audit Oversight Board (AOB), effective 5 January 2026. Dato’ Seri Johan joined the AOB as a non-executive member in December 2020 and the Board later redesignated him as non-executive Chairman. He succeeds Tan Sri Abu Samah Nordin, who completed his two-year term as the AOB’s non-executive Chairman on 4 January 2026. Dato’ Seri Johan brings extensive experience across the corporate and public sectors, with a background in audit, governance and financial oversight. He previously served as Executive Chairman…

Fadrizul Hasani has announced his departure from Grab and GXBank following a 14-year tenure. As the First Engineer at Grab, Fadrizul was a foundational member of the technical team that scaled the company into a regional platform. He most recently served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at GXBank. GXBank has since updated its website to name Nishant Sharma as the new CTO. In a LinkedIn post, Fadrizul confirmed that his next phase of work will focus on the Malaysian market, with an emphasis on projects designed for national impact. “I’m stepping into a new chapter focused on building things…

CGS International Securities Malaysia (CGS MY) entered 2026 following a leadership transition announced on 25 November 2025. Khairi Shahrin Arief has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, while Alan Inn assumes the role of Country Head. Khairi will oversee strategic businesses and local operations, while Alan will focus on regional and cross-border growth. Commenting on the outlook, Khairi said Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and growth themes in digital technology, energy transition and healthcare supported CGS MY’s performance in 2025. “In 2026, we look forward to sharing progressive results of these activities, as CGS MY continues to serve as an important gateway to…

CIMB is laying the groundwork for tokenised bond and sukuk issuance as regulators advance securities tokenisation in Malaysia. The group said it will develop tokenised financial services covering assets, settlement and payment infrastructure under the Securities Commission Malaysia’s industry pilot programme on securities tokenisation. The initiatives will be rolled out in phases. The bank is also engaging Bank Negara Malaysia to seek admission into the Digital Asset Innovation Hub. Novan Amirudin, Group Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Group, said, “CIMB is pleased to play a leading role in advancing Malaysia’s evolution towards a modern, resilient financial market infrastructure. In line…