The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today announced that it has registered two Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) operators, Kapital DX Sdn Bhd and Pitch Platforms Sdn Bhd, to promote responsible innovation in the digital assets space. The registered IEO operators will provide an alternative avenue for eligible companies to raise funds via the issuance of digital tokens in Malaysia. An issuer may raise funds up to RM100 million from retail, sophisticated, as well as angel investors, subject to the investment limits provided in the SC’s Guidelines on Digital Assets. These new operators will be required to carry out the necessary assessments,…

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in financial services is all over the news, with some reports estimating it to be a US$450 billion opportunity. But what’s the real story around what AI can do? Beyond just automating certain processes, AI has the potential to improve accuracy in credit or risk decisioning workflows, encouraging financial inclusion and allowing the underbanked and unbanked access to financial services in ways that were previously unreachable. Over 3 billion people in Asia have no access to formal credit and three of the top ten ‘most unbanked’ countries in the world happen to be located in APAC (Vietnam,…

Grab Financial Group (GFG) Malaysia and SEDANIA As Salam Capital Sdn Bhd (SASC) are partnering to offer Grab Cash Financing-i, a shariah-compliant financing product, to eligible Grab drivers and delivery partners. Grab Cash Financing-i aims to provide its gig workers with convenient and secure access to financing. This financing option lowers the barriers to micro-financing which is typically inaccessible to those below a certain income level and lack a formal credit history. This solution is made possible through SASC’s GoHalal Financing Programme (GHP), which ensures the financing activities and operations are compliant with Shariah principles and practices. The GoHalal Financing…

Tune Protect Malaysia is now the first insurer in the country to have received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to host its insurance core system on Telekom Malaysia’s (TM) Cloud α Edge. This was made possible via a collaboration between Tune Protect, TM and Huawei Malaysia. This partnership will enable Tune Protect to re-platform its existing GIS (General Insurance System), an insurance core system, on to cloud. This collaboration between the three parties aims to provide Tune Protect’s customers with consistent speeds in user portal experience; more tailored insurance offerings for their requirements; and better insurance premium rates due…

Luno, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), announces the launch of Luno Expeditions, a global, early-stage investment arm for fintech, crypto and web3 startups. The investment arm will now spearhead all of DCG’s early stage investing. The team will scale up investments targeting up to 200-300 per year globally and expand the focus beyond crypto into the broader fintech space. In a statement to Fintech News Malaysia, its CEO, Jocelyn Cheng said that Luno Expeditions is keen to support founders building the next generation of Malaysian fintech and crypto companies. She adds that they are aiming to invest…

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has announced the appointment of Suhaimi Ali as Assistant Governor effective 1 April 2022 onwards. Suhaimi joined BNM in 1998 after graduating from the University of Notre Dame, United States of America. Throughout his career with BNM, he has served in various areas which include financial sector development, regulation and supervision, strategic planning, market conduct, international negotiations and IT services, as well as in the Governor’s Office. The appointment comes on the heels of Assistant Governor Norzila Abdul Aziz’s retirement on 1 April 2022. Since joining the Bank in 1988, Norzila has played an instrumental role…

Maybank has launched its new Maybank Personal Digital Financing which provides instantaneous approval and subsequently disbursement within 10 seconds. Leveraging the bank’s comprehensive credit risk metrics and modelling capabilities, the new solution has a decisioning engine that can perform pre-qualification checks and assess each application in real-time. All existing and new customers between 21 and 60 years old can apply for Maybank Personal Digital Financing. Maybank’s customers can apply for up to RM100,000 or four times their monthly salaries, whichever is lower, with no income documents required. The approval is subject to the customer having a salaried account with the bank,…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has cautioned the public on the sharp increase of investment scams promoted on messaging application Telegram. Since January 2022, the SC has received a total of 47 complaints and enquiries on illegal investment schemes promoted through Telegram. These fraudulent schemes offer non-existent investment opportunities, promising very attractive and risk-free returns within a short span of time. They commonly offer unrealistic returns of as high as 1,000% within 24 hours or even within a few hours. The perpetrators use various names to carry out the investment scams. They may also impersonate or clone licensed capital market…

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Malaysia Airlines, announced a regional partnership with Singaporean Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform hoolah to provide a seamless and convenient payment option for travellers. Travellers in Malaysia, Singapore and soon Hong Kong, can now book their getaway with MAG’s main airline, Malaysia Airlines online and pay for their flights via hoolah’s flexible three-month, interest-free payment option. This partnership comes at a time where travel is picking up in Singapore as its borders are already open to 30 countries/regions including Australia, South Korea, and Switzerland under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme,…

Malaysia’s credit reporting agency CTOS Digital had recently appointed Eric Hamburger as its Deputy Group CEO to bolster its strategic and operational leadership. He will be particularly focused on the emerging areas of data analytics and digital platforms. A 28-year veteran in corporate strategy and international credit reporting sector, Hamburger was previously the President and CEO of Experian Colombia and Mexico where he was instrumental in its transformation into a digital solutions provider. Since his appointment to the newly-created role in September 2021, Hamburger has been heavily involved overseeing CTOS Digital’s acquisition of the fintech specialist JurisTech, which was approved…

The Malaysia Debt Ventures (MDV), a subsidiary of the Minister of Finance (MOF) and dedicated technology financier, is allocating a pilot fund of RM500,000 to be invested via Funding Societies, a Southeast Asian SME digital financing platform. This move aims to reach underserved businesses, particularly those aligned with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)’s 10-10 Malaysian Science, Technology, Innovation and Economy (MySTIE) Framework, and to help the industry manage the post-pandemic recovery phase and regain momentum. MDV is looking to allocate an initial sum of RM1 million for lending via digital financing platforms this year and expect to…

In Asia Pacific (APAC), the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has fueled demand for cross-border payment capabilities and embedded financial solutions as small, online businesses embrace digital technologies to broaden their reach and go global, a recent report by Currencycloud shows. Embedded finance enables any company to embed pre-built financial solutions via an API integration into their offerings. These solutions can be anything ranging from payments and lending, to other specialised services such as insurance coverage, and investments. There are many reasons for the rise of embedded finance, including friendly regulations, acceleration toward a cashless society, and the growth of e-commerce. But…

AirAsia Super App has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CGS-CIMB Securities to enable its users to make investments from within the app. Both entities said in a joint statement that they will combine their respective strengths to democratise capital market offerings for the masses by making it accessible, affordable, and digitally inclusive. Responding to an email clarification from Fintech News Malaysia, an AirAsia Super App representative said that they are looking to enable users to buy stocks through the app within the next few months. They added that they are now working with CGS CIMB Securities to obtain…

Following a two year stint at TNG Digital, Ignatius Ong will be resigning from his position as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective 31st March 2022 due to personal reasons, according to a report by A+M. Ignatius was previously appointed as the CEO in 2019 to replace Syahrunizam Samsudin who was also one of the founding members of TNG Digital. Alan Ni who is currently the COO, Chief Product Officer and Financial Services Business Head will be taking over the role. He had drastically improved TNG Digital’s growth since taking over the business operation role and had a hand in…

BigPay, a Capital A venture company and digital bank aspirant, announced the launch of its fully digital loans issued by “BigPay Later”, a wholly owned subsidiary within the group and a digital money lending license holder. The personal product issued by BigPay Later is fully regulated by Malaysia’s Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT). This is BigPay’s first personal loan product offering which is currently available to selected users and will be progressively rolled out to more users. BigPay said it it offers competitive interest rates which are lower than standard credit card rates and easier to apply for…

GHL Systems has rolled out digital lending services for its merchants in February 2022 following approvals from The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan – KPKT). The digital lending service by GHL is set to provide a platform that allows automated onboarding, disbursement, and repayment process to facilitate the micro-financing journey. Further easing the financing process, the credit assessment of merchant applicants will be performed based on the readily available merchant’s historical transaction data. Collection or repayment of the financing on the other hand, will be done through merchant settlement, simplifying repayment and collection process.…

Maybank announced that it has launched its digital home financing solution “Maybank Home2u” on its MAE app that is capable of providing approvals within 10 seconds and is available to both existing and new customers. Backed by Maybank’s proprietary automated decisioning engine, the solution offers a fully digital experience from application to approval and signing of Letter of Offer (LO) – without having to visit a branch. Customers with salary credited into Maybank can apply for home financing up to RM1 million without submitting income documents and have the flexibility to package their home financing insurance via Maybank Home2u. They will…

Singaporean neobank IN Financial Technology (INFT) has fully acquired MyCash Money, a money transfer company focused on migrant workers, for an undisclosed sum. INFT is an end-to-end, employer to employee fintech platform that empowers micro and small businesses in Asia to transform their business banking processes from traditional to digital. This includes online business accounts, virtual debit cards, spend management tools and business cash line. With this acquisition, INFT will be able to leverage MyCash’s consumer remittance business while the latter will be able to to expand to other Asian markets, including Malaysia and Indonesia. MyCash’s Chief Executive Office, Mehedi…

MX Global today announced an equity investment into the company from Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. In addition, MX Global also landed another investment for Redeemable Convertible Preference Shares (RCPS) into the company by Cuscapi Berhad, a pioneer digital business solutions provider in Malaysia. They said that these new capital injections will allow MX Global to build brand awareness, hire more high-quality talent and develop new features within Malaysia’s regulatory framework. MX Global is one of the four Recognized Market Operator-Digital Asset Exchange (RMO-DAX) that has been granted full approval by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) in…

Finexus, a Malaysian financial services technology vendor, announced that it will invest RM10 million in the next 5 years building a sustainable fintech eco-system in Penang. The company will be collaborating with local fintechs and digital companies in the Creative Digital District @ George Town (CD2@George Town) to support Penang’s Digital Transformation Masterplan 1.0. Finexus will work with VCs, fintechs, digital startups and mid-growth companies by providing them with its ready-to-use MyXaaS collaboration platform. The platform offers services such as Application as a Service, Financial as a Service and capital lending. These services will enable aspiring digital companies to develop…