Author: Fintech News Malaysia

Equity crowdfunding platform (ECF) pitchIN has launched the ‘pitchIN Academy’ that will serve as its educational arm. The academy is headed by Hanif Tamin, who previously served at SME Corp. The academy aims to offer practical and easy-to-understand educational programmes, activities and content on alternative financing and investment. Currently, the academy offers three main programmes, namely the Fundraising Accelerator (FA), pitchIN’s Investment Workshop (IW) and the pitchIN Masterclass (MC). The Fundraising Accelerator (FA) is pitchIN Academy’s flagship programme. It helps founders and entrepreneurs who are fundraising for the first time by equipping them with a comprehensive suite of fundraising learning…

Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Malaysia’s pension fund, has launched a RM500 million fund called Dana Perintis to boost the country’s venture and startup ecosystem. KWAP said it will invest RM250 million in VC funds focused on Malaysia, ranging from accelerators to growth managers, and the remaining RM250 million directly in early-stage companies. The fund launch is aligned with the Economy Madani initiative, which focuses on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and fostering economic growth. KWAP has already identified several potential startups to invest in, which currently employ more than 1,000 Malaysians. “KWAP recognises the potential for innovation and growth…

Thought Machine, a cloud-native banking technology company, has empowered Nikel, a fintech startup that unlocks credit for millions in Southeast Asia, to streamline its lending process and develop new products more quickly. Founded in 2018, Nikel which rebranded from Impact Credit Solutions, offers small businesses access to loans through their digitally embedded lending platform. They offer banks and other companies a digital lending solution covering everything from loan origination to underwriting to collections. With many small businesses moving online, they required bespoke loan products to meet their specific needs. Thus, in order to offer these products online, orchestration between many…

Finology Group, a Malaysian fintech that enables embedded finance, announced that it has closed its pre-Series A funding round. Details of the fundraise was not disclosed. Led by Silverlake Group, the funding round was also joined by The Hive Southeast Asia and Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC). The company plans to bring its solutions to financial institutions and consumer-facing brands in the APAC market in a bid to increase financial inclusion and support the underbanked. Noting the potential of embedded finance in the lending and insurance landscape, Finology had expanded its offerings to include a wider range of products such…

AIA Group has appointed Shamsiah Binti Mohd Yunus as an independent non-executive director, with effect from 21 September 2023. She will also be a member of AIA’s Nomination Committee. Shamsiah, aged 59, currently serves as the Chancellor of International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) University in Malaysia. She also served in various roles over 34 years with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) including as the Governor from July 2018 to June 2023. She was also the Chairperson of BNM’s Board of Directors, Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Stability Executive Committee, Reserve Management Committee, Risk Management Committee and Digital Technology Committee.…

Online money transfer service Wise has enabled its Malaysian customers to add its card to Apple Pay or Google Pay on their iOS or Android devices. Wise claims to be the first non-bank in Malaysia to do so. Users will need to open the Wise app and tap on the card tab, where they can see all their available cards. They can then select the card that they would like to add and then tap on ‘Add to Apple Wallet’ or ‘Add to G Pay’. They will then be able to use them to pay in-store, online or in-app, and…

Bursa Malaysia, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is set to explore setting up an inter-regional Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-linked ecosystem. The three exchanges aim to collaboratively spur the adoption of good ESG practices and drive responsible growth in their respective markets, while offering cross-border opportunities related to ESG investments. It is also looking to identify commonalities within the ASEAN ESG ecosystem to facilitate cross-border trade, broaden business opportunities, and advance sustainable financing for corporations of all sizes and their supply chains in the region. The three exchanges will work together to help…

CTOS IDGuard, Malaysia’s national fraud bureau, has flagged RM319 million in potentially fraudulent loan applications since 2020, using GBG’s fraud and financial crime prevention engine. The system has screened nearly 7 million applications from member banks, which cover over 65% percent of Malaysia’s banking assets. In terms of total applications, credit cards make up the significant majority, contributing two million of the total applications screened. Around half of the flagged applications are confirmed to be suspicious or fraudulent. CTOS IDGuard is part of CTOS’s suite of fraud and identification services which leverage on CTOS’ extensive database, such as CTOS eKYC,…

Dropee, a business-to-business e-commerce platform, and Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) have launched the Digital Niaga programme to aid micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Malaysia. Both entities will identify qualified MSMEs to participate in the Digital Niaga programme to provide them access to financing, training, and technology solutions to help them adopt digital technologies and improve their business operations. MSMEs will also have the opportunity to be a part of Dropee’s e-commerce platform. The collaboration targets RM300 million worth of financing for MSMEs with tailored products such as revolving supply chain financing for their various business needs. “BSN sees…

HSBC Malaysia has launched a RM500 million lending fund for the local tech-led businesses and emerging startups from Series B stage and beyond. The bank said that the ‘HSBC New Economy Fund’ is part of its commitment to support the development of Malaysia’s startup ecosystem. HSBC will also continue to offer working capital, treasury management and payments and cash management solutions to meet the needs of these businesses at different stages of their lifecycle. Dato’ Omar Siddiq, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Malaysia said, “We have invested US$2 billion globally into commercial banking to improve our digital capabilities and to develop…

In recent years, the payments industry has undergone a paradigm shift, altering the way consumers and businesses interact financially. According to a McKinsey report, the global payments sector is approaching a staggering revenue opportunity of nearly US$2 trillion. In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, this transformation is notably pronounced in cross-border payments, with changing consumer expectations, multiple regulatory landscapes, and multiple payment schemes complicating the industry’s growth trajectory. “It’s not an evolution of payments, but it’s a revolution of payment systems that’s happening in the APAC region,” commented Mahendra Shirali, Director, Business Strategy at SmartStream. The Three V’s: Velocity, Volume, and…

Kenanga Futures, a Malaysian listed derivatives broker, is launching a new campaign to build a smart derivatives trading community in a bid to boost retail participation. The “Grow Your Futures” campaign offers a reduced account opening fee of RM10 from RM3,000, as well as prizes worth up to RM10,000, one-on-one coaching sessions, and commission-free trades. The 12 Bursa Malaysia derivatives products covered by this campaign range from Crude Palm Oil Futures (FCPO) and FBM KLCI Futures (FKLI) to options on FKLI, Gold Futures, Mini FBM 70 Index Futures, options on FCPO, KLIBOR Futures, USD Crude Palm Oil Futures, RBD Palm…

Bursa Malaysia has joined forces with Cradle Fund to build awareness among startups on funding opportunities available in Malaysia, including those offered by the equity market. The bourse will analyse the data shared by Cradle and work with them to organise programmes that focuses on funding access. Additionally, Bursa Malaysia will support Cradle in terms of knowledge sharing and help startups gain a better understanding of how the equity market can contribute to their growth. This collaboration will also have them working together to facilitate early identification of companies with the potential for listing on Bursa Malaysia. These initiatives will…

Bank Islam Malaysia has launched the Be U by Bank Islam Visa Debit Card-i which customers can easily apply for via the app and have it delivered to their homes in a few working days. Be U by Bank Islam is a fully cloud-native digital banking proposition and the app allows for tracking payments made through DuitNow QR and transfers as well as the Be U by Bank Islam Visa Debit Card-i. In addition to tracking payments, Be U also offers features such as Nest, an automated goal savings feature that encourages positive financial habits. Customers can select from five…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has revised its guidelines to allow stockbroking companies to offer fractional share trading services for shares listed on Bursa Malaysia. Fractional shares are portions of a stock that are less than one standard board lot. This means that investors will be able to buy and sell shares even if they cannot afford to buy a full share. The revised guidelines take effect today and require stockbroking companies to implement adequate systems, policies, and procedures to ensure fair treatment of customers’ orders, price transparency, and proper supervision of the fractional share trading service. The SC chairman,…

HSBC Malaysia’s Premier customers can now open an investment account using the mobile app. The service is embedded within the Wealth tab in the app. With this move, HSBC Malaysia’s Premier customers can easily open unit trusts, bonds, and Sukuk accounts with the bank at one go. Customers can also monitor the performance of their unit trusts, structured investments, bonds/Sukuk and dual currency investments via the Wealth dashboard on the app. However, to further transact in bonds or Sukuk for trading, buying or selling activities, customers would still need the assistance of their relationship managers, either face to face or…

GX Bank Berhad (GXBank), the Grab-led digital bank, has been granted approval to begin operations effective 1 September 2023 by the Minister of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). This makes GXBank the first of the five digital bank license applicants to receive approval, and it is ahead of the April 2024 deadline set by BNM. The digital bank is a subsidiary of GXS Bank, the digital bank joint venture between Grab Holdings Limited and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), and a consortium of other Malaysian investors, including Kuok Group. GXBank aims to serve the needs of the unserved and underserved…

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced that it has imposed a RM600,000 penalty on TNG Digital, the owner and operator of Touch ‘n Go eWallet, for failing to screen its customers against sanctions lists. The penalties were issued as BNM found this to breach of the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations. Alan Ni, CEO of TNG Digital came forward to say that this was uncovered during its “internal compliance review a while back” where the firm had allowed two individuals on the sanction list to sign up as users. “Even…

Equity crowdfunding platform (ECF) pitchIN has named Xelia Tong as it Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective 1 September 2023. In her new role, Xelia will be responsible for the overall operations of pitchIN that include its ECF and Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platforms, as well as the soon to be launched Secondary Market platform. She will be working alongside Chief Technology Officer Steven Wong, ECF Head Nisa Zulkifi, Head of Legal and Compliance Faten Nabila, and pitchIN’s Academy Head Hanif Tamin. Xelia has held various key roles that includes Malaysia Debt Ventures, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Cradle Fund and most recently,…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has announced the first batch of three award recipients for its Digital Innovation Fund (DIGID). The DIGID is an initiative of the SC that was set up to co-fund innovative projects that demonstrate the use of technology to allow new and competitive propositions in the Malaysian capital market. The fund aims to encourage technology investments by smaller capital market players, and the development of industry-wide solutions impacting capital raising and investment activities. Here is the first batch of award recipients: MULA Advisory MULA is a financial fitness instructor that helps people achieve their goals in…