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…
Author: Fintech News Malaysia
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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…
Fave is now providing GrabPay as a new payment option in the former’s app, to enhance convenience and cashback savings for their users in Malaysia. This will enable customers to spend their GrabPay credits at more than 17,000 F&B outlets and retailers on Fave’s network and deals. Beyond that, consumers can use GrabPay to get a string of double-dip rewards in the form of Grab points, merchant cashback for more savings on every deal they purchase through Fave. Fave aims to bring Malaysians more value and payment options that will purportedly help them save up to 80% at restaurants, cafés,…
Setel, Petronas’ e-payment solution that enables fuel purchases directly from mobile devices, announced that it will be fully integrated into the Boost app. Driving interoperability between the two platforms, this partnership expands Boost’s offerings under its ‘Transport and Transit’ portfolio. New users can register for a Setel account from within Boost by going to the ‘Transport’ tile, tapping on Setel and entering their phone number. Once registered, users can simply enter the pump number and amount to be filled. This means that users can directly access Setel through Boost, and make fuel purchases from their mobile devices without leaving their…
Green Packet announced its acquisition of 51% majority stake in T-Melmax, a payment processing technology company owned by Censof Holdings, which specialises in financial management software solutions. The move is said to fill the gap in the market for SMEs, state and federal government units and enterprises who are looking for a one-stop provider that is able to combine the power of real-time cashless payments and accounting into an integrated solution with end-to-end financial reporting analytics. Green Packet seems to be on an acquisition spree with the recent addition of technology firm Xendity which specialises in identity verification processes using e-KYC.…
Razer Fintech and Funding Societies today jointly announced a partnership to offer short-term business financing to merchants under Razer Merchant Services (RMS). According to their statement more than 20,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises in Malaysia first and subsequently across the region will be connected to Funding Societies’ financing solutions via Razer Merchant Services. They expect retailers, F&B vendors, and online sellers registered under the RMS platform to be among the first beneficiaries. Eligible merchants will have access to quick and tailor-made short-term financing to help them meet common business operations needs such as cyclical cash flow gaps, urgent project…
BigPay, Air Asia Group’s fintech focused company, is now available in Singapore which is in line with the fintech’s expansion plan into other South East Asian markets by early 2021. The fast-growing fintech is getting ready to make its mobile money app and prepaid Visa card available to all Singapore residents in the coming weeks. BigPay said that it received its licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate in Singapore early this year. BigPay will make its two core features – payments and remittance – available in Singapore. Users will be able to open an account using their…
Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (Kenanga) today announced its partnership with Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd (Merchantrade) to introduce their e-wallet, Kenanga Money, which will be supported by a Visa prepaid card feature. Kenanga said that this marks the bank’s entry into the cashless payment space as part of its ongoing digitalisation journey. The e-wallet, they said, will enable their clients to easily transfer funds from their stock trading account into an e-wallet and prepaid card for retail payments, remittance and withdrawals worldwide. Users will also be able to tap into their multi-currency function which enables them to buy, sell and store…
Setel, Petronas’ e-payment solution that enables fuel purchases directly from mobile devices, has expanded its services with the addition of the Deliver2Me feature for in-store cashless payments. Deliver2Me allows Setel users to purchase selected items from participating Kedai Mesra outlets and have it delivered directly to their vehicle while refueling. Targeting those on-the-go, Deliver2Me aims to offer customers a convenient way to shop without having to leave the comfort and safety of their vehicle. For those who prefer the full shopping experience, Setel has introduced a cashless payment system at 800 participating Kedai Mesra outlets through the Setel Wallet. Customers…
OCBC Malaysia announced the launch of its digital banking solution FRANK by OCBC in Malaysia. This solution was first introduced in Singapore circa 2010. In Malaysia, OCBC says that it seeks to provide the mobile generation with a “fresh new of banking” using mobile only banking options to make banking “less rigid whilst removing layered financial jargon and complex processes to make banking even more accessible”. According to OCBC Bank’s Head of Consumer Financial Services Mr Lim Wyson, the initiative provides a vital piece of the jigsaw for making banking less restrictive in today’s digital world and will centre entirely…
At the 2020 Huawei Developer Conference held earlier this week, fintech influencer, best-selling author, and entrepreneur Brett King joined the finance tech.session to talk about the role of technology to improve financial inclusion and shared his views on how banking will look like in the years to come. In light of this, AppGallery has been growing rapidly as it pushes to onboard more financial partners and attract banking apps from different regions. In particular, the app marketplace is seeing strong demand coming from users looking for apps that allow users to manage their finances with their local banks and financial…
MyMy today announced that it has secured Malaysia’s largest fintech seed round of RM 12 million at the valuation of RM 50 million. Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Berhad led this fund raising round with an investment of RM10 million. The startup founded in 2018 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, it primarily focuses on digital payments and financial inclusion. Fintech News Malaysia previously highlighted MyMy as one of the top 5 underdogs to watch in Malaysia’s fintech in scene in a 2018 article. With this fresh funding secured, MyMy said it now has the required regulatory capital to pursue an e-Money…
From September 10 to 12, 2020, Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) held the annual Huawei Developer Conference. Themed HDC.Together, the event saw multiple announcements being made, including the launch of new products, as well as updates on the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) ecosystem. Huawei’s developer community and app ecosystem The HMS ecosystem has grown to now counting some 1.8 million developers worldwide, doubling that of last year’s Huawei Developer Conference. This figure makes the HMS ecosystem the third largest mobile ecosystem in the world, Zhang Ping’an, president of consumer cloud service at the Huawei Consumer Business Group, said during his…
Fi Life will be offering direct life protection for users of the Kakitangan.com’s payroll and leave management web app which is said to serve more than 5,000 SMEs and 50,000 employees. Through the Kakitangan.com’s web app, users are now able to obtain personalised quotes to insure their lives against death, critical illness and total and permanent disability, for the benefit of their families and dependents. This personalised life insurance service is part of Kakitangan.com’s expansion into employee benefits offerings, in addition to its existing payroll, expense claims management, and leave management service. Fi Life’s life, critical illness and total and…
COVID-19 has been an important catalyst for digital transformation across all industries. In banking, the pandemic has accelerated banks’ digitalisation push and triggered a sharp rise in digital payments and digital banking usage. This has pushed banks to not only fast-track their digital initiatives but also to respond with empathy and help their customers through these trying times. In partnership with Finastra, the Fintech News Network is running a series of interviews with the industry’s top banking voices to understand how their organisations have responded to these changes. Following the first piece of our “Redefining Finance for Good Series” where…
Tranglo, a Malaysian based cross border payment specialist, announced a brand-new partnership with Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank) of Myanmar as part of its expansion the country. The collaboration is said to add Myanmar to Tranglo’s global network that includes countries like China, Indonesia and Singapore, to name a few. According to a 2020 Myanmar Times report quoting U Kyaw Htwe, Chair of Myanmar’s Immigration and Local Overseas Labour Committee, there were 4 million Myanmar workers in foreign countries, either officially or unofficially. These workers represent a significant market in an increasingly competitive remittance industry. Tranglo CEO Jacky Lee said, “One…