Author: Fintech News Malaysia

Huawei announced that its mobile payment service, Huawei Pay, is now available to its Malaysian users. The same service was launched in Thailand in June 2020 This launch was in partnership with UnionPay International and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). It was first introduced in August 2016 in China as a mobile payment service rooted in Huawei Wallet, as part of the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS). Huawei Pay is one of the key services under the Huawei Wallet application that supports the Near Field Communication (NFC) payments in retail stores. Users can enable Huawei Pay by adding their…

Merchantrade Asia and the Construction Labour Exchange Centre Berhad (CLAB) have forged an alliance to facilitate cashless wages for both Malaysians and foreign workers in the construction industry. Through this collaboration, CLAB will facilitate contractors to pay salaries via top-up direct into Merchantrade Money Visa Prepaid Card, which is in line with the government’s initiatives in promoting cashless wages and reach the unbanked community. Merchantrade Asia is a digital money services business operator and e-money issuer, whilst CLAB is responsible for bringing and redistributing of foreign workers catering to the needs of organisations and companies in the construction industries. Merchantrade…

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, contactless payments have soared and digital banking adoption has increased dramatically. In Q1 2020, MasterCard recorded more than 40% growth in contactless transactions globally. In the US, which has traditionally lagged other countries in digital adoption, 35% of customers have increased their online banking usage during COVID-19, and banks have reported all-time highs in the number of mobile logins. In response to rapidly changing customer behaviors, banks around the world have significantly increased their focus and efforts on digital transformation, recognizing the importance of getting this right in order to remain competitive and gain or…

Payment solutions provider Revenue has secured a contract for the provisioning of the MyDebit tokenisation platform (TSP) for Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet). To formalise the deal, the company’s subsidiary Revenue Secure had signed an agreement with PayNet for the contract. Under the agreement, Revenue Secure will develop and implement the TSP for PayNet. PayNet is the national payments network and central infrastructure for Malaysia’s financial markets. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is PayNet’s single largest shareholder with 11 Malaysian banks as joint shareholders. Datuk Eddie Ng Chee Siong, the Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Revenue said upon completion,…

pitchIN hit a new equity crowdfunding milestone today when it recorded RM100 million funds raised for companies this week. This figure was reached by successfully hosting 74 companies who raised capital from nearly 5000 investors since 2016. pitchIN is the first Malaysian ECF platform to reach this milestone. To date, the ECF industry in Malaysia, which consists of 10 operators, is estimated to have raised around RM175 million in total. pitchIN CEO Sam Shafie says momentum is increasing. Nearly half of the RM100 million was raised in 2020, “It was a record breaking year at pitchIN. We achieved our entire…

China Construction Bank’s Labuan branch (CCB Labuan) has partnered with digital asset exchange firm Fusang to raise a US$ 3 billion bond on the blockchain. The bond will be issued by Longbond Ltd. a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up with the sole purpose of issuing digital bonds and depositing the proceeds to with CCB Labuan. The bank will be acting as the lead arranger and listing sponsor for this deal. This “Longbond” represents the first digital security to be listed on a public stock exchange that is directly accessible by retail investors, according to their media statement. This move…

Chevron Malaysia Limited, which markets the brand Caltex, announced its partnership with Shopee to enable contactless payments via the e-commerce platform’s mobile wallet, ShopeePay at more than 420 Caltex service stations nationwide. This partnership will allow customers to transact using ShopeePay when they fuel up or purchase items at participating Caltex service stations. Caltex is reportedly the first fuel provider in Malaysia to offer ShopeePay. This alternative payment option at Caltex aims to bring convenience and security for motorists as a secure mode of payment. Jay Gomez, Country Chairman for Chevron Malaysia said that this partnership is in line with…

CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic Bank unveiled its BusinessHR.asia solution, offering an all-in-one human resources platform for business customers. Co-hosted with HReasily, a regional digital human resource solutions provider, the cloud-based solution has been created and designed with small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in mind, according to their statement. They further added that, BusinessHR.asia is designed to automate and simplify human resources tasks suited to the current working-from-home arrangements. The platform offers the ability to access and view salary slips as well as leave balances and employee expense reimbursements via mobile or desktop. Victor Lee Meng Teck, CEO, Group Commercial…

CapBay, a Malaysian P2P supply chain financing platform, has acquired a 49% stake in Kenanga Capital Islamic, a subsidiary of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, forming a joint venture with the latter to create an Islamic Supply Chain Finance fintech firm. Kenanga Capital Islamic was established as a subsidiary of the group in 2013 and is registered with the Ministry of Finance to finance government contracts and orders for companies that supply to the government and government-linked companies. This news follows their partnership announcement recently to digitise the factoring market for SMEs in Malaysia. With this acquisition, CapBay’s co-founder Ang Xing…

In Malaysia, adoption of wealthtech and alternative asset classes has increased over the past year, but in order for the sector to reach its full potential, there’s a need to raise financial literacy levels, experts said. In a virtual panel discussion hosted by Fintech News Malaysia earlier this month, senior executives from Kenanga Investment Bank, Funding Societies, pitchIN and Luno discussed the state of wealthtech in Malaysia, arguing that while consumers are growing accustomed to investing in equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending or even cryptocurrencies, financial illiteracy remained a major challenge, and perhaps the biggest one for the wealthtech industry…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has revised its Guidelines on Digital Assets (Guidelines), which came into force today to regulate Initial Exchange Offerings (IEO) and Digital Asset Custodians (DAC). SC said that the Guidelines will facilitate the SC’s objectives in promoting responsible innovation in the digital asset space, while at the same time managing emerging risks and safeguarding the interests of issuers and investors. Earlier in January 2020, the SC had announced a framework to enable companies to raise funds via the issuance of digital tokens in Malaysia through an IEO platform registered by the SC. Under the Guidelines, IEO…

Kenanga Investment Bank has acquired 4.99% equity interest in Merchantrade, a Malaysian digital money services business operator and e-money issuer. This follows Kenanga’s recent collaboration with Merchantrade to introduce their own e-wallet, Kenanga Money. “Merchantrade is one of the fastest growing digital payment and remittance brands in the country. Constantly on the forefront of digitisation and driving innovation in financial services, they are rapidly making waves across Asia in a segment projected to experience exponential growth. We are excited to be able to partake in the flourishing prospects of Merchantrade and look forward to exploring more digital opportunities together,” commented…

United Overseas Bank Malaysia (UOB) has launched Mighty Insights, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based digital banking service to help their customers better manage their finances. Malaysia is the second market to launch Mighty Insights. The service is driven by the same digital capabilities used by UOB’s proprietary AI-driven predictive analytics engine and TMRW, UOB’s digital bank. With this latest update, customers will receive personalised insights based on their banking and spending patterns, enabling them to track and to manage their savings and expenses. Mighty Insights will also guide them to relevant financial solutions that can help them meet their financial needs.…

Merchantrade, a digital money services business operator and e-money issuer, has entered into a partnership with Alibaba’s Ant Group. The collaboration allows customers of Merchantrade in Malaysia and Singapore to facilitate real-time remittances to Alipay users in China, with funds reaching bank accounts linked to their Alipay app. Alipay is operated by Ant Group and is said to currently serve more than one billion users. The service is now available at Merchantrade’s 81 branches and over 450 of its agent locations in Malaysia. It is also available on Merchantrade’s remittance mobile app, eRemit Malaysia and soon will be available on…

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd (Rakuten Trade) announced the appointment of Mr Kazumasa Mise as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective 16 October 2020, following approval from Securities Commission Malaysia. Mise replaces Mr Kaoru Arai, who was the Managing Director of Rakuten Trade since its launch in May 2017. Arai was responsible for the company being named Fintech Company of the Year in 2018 and for steering the company in achieving profitability in less than three years. Arai will be assuming the role of Director of International Business and will lead Rakuten Trade’s efforts…

Microsoft Malaysia in partnership with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) have launched the Highway to a 100 Unicorns initiative. This move is said to be part of a joint effort to strengthen the nation’s startup ecosystem and empower local startups with mentoring, technology, and access to enterprise clients. Eligible startups will gain access to focused workshops on business and technology, as well as monthly knowledge-sharing webinars with the global startup community. Additionally, the top startups from Malaysia will stand to gain from an intensive year-long mentorship programme, access to enterprise…

Tune Protect Group Berhad today announced the appointment of Rohit Chandrasekharan Nambiar as its Group Chief Executive Officer effective 14 October 2020. Rohit takes over the helm from Khoo Ai Lin who resigned on 31 July 2020. In his new role, Rohit will be responsible for steering Tune Protect on its continuing journey of growth and digital transformation. Chairman of Tune Protect Group Berhad, Ng Siek Chuan said, “We are proud that Rohit has joined as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company and to have him lead our operations across Malaysia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. With his…

Following the publication of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) guideline on Electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC), Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank (HLB) announced the offering of a full digital onboarding experience for their customers. On the same day as HLB’s announcement, Maybank had also virtually launched their refreshed MAE app that offers a fully digital onboarding process. Effective immediately, customers only need to download the ‘Apply@HLB’ mobile app to open an account and their debit cards will be delivered to them wherever they are in Malaysia. This move is timely given the ongoing COVID-19 health concerns and corresponding shift to…

Maybank today launched mobile banking and e-wallet app called MAE by Maybank2u, an app they said is built to help Malaysians take charge of their everyday money matters, beyond their regular banking needs. Maybank’s Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said, “MAE by Maybank2u was developed to be more than just a banking app; we want it to be an all-encompassing platform to help our customers manage their day-to-day money matters. Imagine it to be a pocketable digital bank but with many cool features to help you take control of your money. The app contains…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced at its virtual SCxSC fintech conference that more than 2,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have raised more than RM1 billion through the regulated crowdfunding markets of the Malaysian capital market. Since the introduction of the Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) and Peer-to-Peer Financing (P2P) regulatory framework in Malaysia in 2016, the SC has registered 21 platforms to provide regulated crowdfunding options to meet the financing needs of MSMEs. This development indicates that these platforms have attracted healthy interest from MSMEs and retail investors. Earlier this year in April, SC had announced the liberalisation of…