Author: Fintech News Malaysia

The world of business is no stranger to change. In recent years, the upheaval has been profound, sweeping across industries and borders. With the assistance of Mambu cloud-native SaaS platform and remarkable benchmarking data, financial businesses have found a way to weather uncertainty and disruption, and emerge stronger and more resilient. The years following 2020 have been marked by significant disruption, making resilience and adaptability essential for thriving in the current landscape. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation soared to 8.8% by the end of 2022 and 6.5% for the end of 2023, the highest numbers since 1982.…

TNG Digital will leverage cross-border payment hub Tranglo’s network and infrastructure integration to enable its users send money directly from its digital remittance service GOremit on the Touch ‘n Go eWallet to 10 countries. The countries include Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The company plans to expand to more countries in the near future. With more than 20 million registered users, Touch ‘n Go eWallet enables its users to make instant cashless transactions at over 1 million merchant touchpoints nationwide for payments, including tolls, food, bills, online shopping, car insurance and peer-to-peer transfers.…

SME digital financing platform Funding Societies has partnered with CGC Digital, the fintech subsidiary of Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC) to empower MSMEs in the country. Through the partnership, CGC Digital developed a new digital credit guarantee product for CGC that will be offered for financing up to RM4 million as a start. This benefits up to 100 creditworthy micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) via Funding Societies’ digital supply chain financing solution, leveraging alternative data for MSMEs’ credit risk assessment. The announcement comes on the heels of Funding Societies’ MoU signing with CGC in April for a RM10 million SME…

FWD Startup Studio and Malaysian venture capital firm 1337 Ventures announced that the fifth cohort of its accelerator programme is now open to Asia-based startups that are venture-backed in insurtech or adjacent verticals. Through the FWD Startup Studio Accelerator, participants will have access to decision-makers within FWD Insurance and other mentors who will provide guidance as well as open doors to collaborations. Participants will also have a chance to fast-track the development of their collaboration to a real proof of concept (POC) before the accelerator programme concludes and pilot their ideas in Malaysia which could potentially spark interest from other…

Malaysian fintech-as-a-service provider Soft Space has signed an agreement with Japanese credit card company JCB to enable the former to work with local acquirers such as Hong Leong Bank (HLB) to promote JCB Card’s acceptance in the country. Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, is one of HLB’s merchants that has begun accepting JCB Card payments. This signals the expansion of JCB Card’s merchant network, the establishment of card issuing solutions, and the provision of customer marketing solutions in Malaysia, and later in Southeast Asia. Malaysia targets to welcome 16.1 million international tourist arrivals and generate RM49.2…

FWD Group announced the appointment of Aman Chowla as the new CEO for its Malaysian life insurance business and finalised the rebranding of from Gibraltar BSN Life to FWD Insurance Berhad. Chowla brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the life and general insurance industry, having held CEO and COO roles for multinational insurance companies across Southeast Asia. FWD Group first entered the Malaysian market in 2019 as a provider of family takaful products. Later that year, the company established its regional technology and innovation hub in Kuala Lumpur to support innovation across the whole of FWD…

CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic Bank has integrated a new e-billing feature by Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN) to make it easier for businesses to pay their taxes directly through the online banking platforms. The bank claims to be the first in the market to implement the new e-billing service available on its CIMB BizChannel and CIMB Clicks platforms. To initiate a payment, customers will be required to obtain a bill number through LHDN’s one-stop MyTax service portal. Subsequently, they can log in to CIMB BizChannel or CIMB Clicks, navigate to the bill payment section, select ‘LHDN e-Billing’ as the…

Capital A has inked a partnership with Philippines’ UnionDigital Bank that includes its three subsidiaries; AirAsia, airasia Superapp, and its fintech arm BigPay. UnionDigital Bank will be providing embedded finance in partnership with BigPay within the airasia Superapp, the main booking channel for AirAsia flights in the Philippines. Through this partnership, frequent fliers will now have the option for flexible payments with the Fly Now, Pay Later offering available in the airasia Superapp along with exclusive co-branding deals. This also serves to expand BigPay’s footprint in the Philippines. The fintech had rolled out cash pick up services in the country last…

BigPay has redesigned its mobile app to provide a seamless and secure user experience through its new and improved interface. The move is part of BigPay’s aim to introduce a full-suite of financial services and feature enhancements such as savings, wealth and investments on the new interface. On its redesigned home screen, users can access their recent transaction records as well as card and Stashes balances at a glance. The app now includes a more detailed analytics and transactions history page, where users can access information like their total account balance, outstanding loan repayments, and an overview of monthly expenses…

Malaysian fintech company Jirnexu‘s co-founders Hann Liew and Lucas Ooi have unveiled their next new venture – Halogen which claims to be Malaysia’s first digital asset fund manager licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). Halogen has a full Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from the regulator to manage digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and tokenised assets. The company was soft-launched in July 2023 with the initial goal of making crypto investing easily accessible to institutional and individual investors. Halogen aims to provide access and professional management through familiar traditional structures such as mutual funds, managed portfolios and ETFs soon. According…

TikTok Shop has integrated Atome’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment option to bolster the e-commerce landscape in Malaysia. Consumers will have the flexibility to make purchases and spread deferred payments over three or six months with Atome now live as a payment option on TikTok Shop in Malaysia. Businesses of all sizes, particularly young entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), will be able to expand their reach and drive their sales growth through this partnership. William Yang, Head of Commercial, Atome said, “This partnership between TikTok Shop and Atome signifies a milestone in the e-commerce landscape in Malaysia,…

As the digital economy continues to surge and expand, consumer expectations for fast, secure access to products and services seem never-ending. Furthermore, when it comes to financial services, there is an entire generation of consumers cropping up who have barely stepped foot inside a brick-and-mortar bank. In fact, in its Online Banking Market Outlook, Allied Market Research expects the online banking market to grow from US$11.43 billion in 2019 to US$31.81 billion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.6%. To stay competitive in this explosive market, banks must not only meet the ever-growing demand for a…

TNG Digital has launched its digital remittance services, GOremit in the Touch ‘n Go eWallet so its users can send money securely to ten countries. The countries are Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Senders are required to complete their verification via e-KYC to use GOremit services and can choose to transfer to the recipient’s bank account, local e-wallet or to cash pick-up points. As of now, there are three supporting e-wallets which include bKash in Bangladesh as well as GCash and PayMaya in Philippines. According to TNG Digital, recipients will receive their…

CapBay, a Malaysian multi-bank supply chain finance and peer-to-peer financing (P2P) platform, announced that it has disbursed over RM1 billion in P2P funding to more than 400 underserved SMEs in Malaysia. The firm attributed its P2P’s success to its advanced technology and proprietary credit model, which leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assess an SME’s repayment ability based on a comprehensive range of traditional and non-traditional data points. CapBay said that it has a default rate of less than 0.1%. Moreover, CapBay’s has developed an Auto Invest feature that automatically diversifies investors’ portfolios, enhancing the safety of P2P investments and ensuring…

Malaysian payments firm Curlec by Razorpay has transitioned from a dedicated recurring payments solution to a full stack payment gateway for businesses of all sizes. Indian payment gateway provider Razorpay had acquired a majority stake in the local fintech in February 2022 for an undisclosed sum. Razorpay said that the valuation of Curlec was roughly around US$ 20 million at that time. The transition aims to provide businesses with a payment gateway that streamlines their payment processing and automates payouts. By harnessing the Razorpay technology that powers 10 million businesses in India, the all-new Curlec Payment Gateway looks to serve…

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) reaffirms its commitment to provide its customers with digital services and experiences through its annual HLB Connect Day throughout the whole month of July. The HLB Connect Day 2023 rewards the bank’s customers for embracing the digital banking lifestyle with special offers including over RM1 million in cashback, rewards, and exclusive rates. Customers who sign up for the HLB Wallet, the bank’s newly launched multi-currency e-wallet, will have a chance to win more than RM500,000 in cashback. Additionally, eligible transactions conducted through the HLB Connect app qualify for over RM300,000 in cashback. As of May 2023,…

Used car trading platform CARSOME has tied up with Malaysian insurtech company PolicyStreet to roll out the CARSOME Care+ coverage. The complimentary coverage is valid for a year and is embedded into every purchase of a CARSOME Certified car, available to Malaysians who apply for car loans from CARSOME Capital without any additional cost. CARSOME Care+ includes personal accident coverage of up to RM10,000 in the event of accidental death or permanent disablement. The new offering also includes loan protection add-on in the event of unemployment. CARSOME Care+ covers car loan payments of up to RM1,000 per month for a…

Tune Protect Group’s reinsurance subsidiary has rolled out its travel insurance offering on Vietjet Air’s website in partnership with Baoviet Insurance. The sale went live on 5 July 2023. Vietjet Air is Vietnam’s largest private carrier and is the group’s seventh airline partner so far. Other airlines include AirAsia, AirAsia X, Bamboo Airways, SalamAir, AirArabia and FlyArna. The travel insurance will offer a range of benefits including medical, personal accident and travel inconveniences which can be selected when booking a flight on Vietjetair.com. Baoviet is the primary underwriter for all the travel policies sold by Vietjet Air, after which part…

Equity crowdfunding platform (ECF) pitchIN has tied up with Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI) for its 3-day Fundraising Accelerator (FA) programme that will take place on 24 to 26 July 2023. This specialised programme equips founders with the necessary techniques and knowledge to effectively raise capital for their businesses, providing in-depth learning on the intricacies of fundraising. This year, the target is set to boost 15 tech startups from MRANTI in raising funds from investors in exchange for a stake in the businesses. Through this accelerator, pitchIN will provide access to its extensive network of legal, marketing,…

Earned Wage Access (EWA) service provider Paywatch has partnered with Visa to promote financial inclusion among Asia’s workforce. Paywatch plans to extend its reach to more of Asia’s workforce and promote financial inclusion by leveraging Visa’s cross-border capabilities, network and financial literacy and digital education content. The firm said that it aims to bridge the gap between traditional banking services and the unbanked populations in Asia. Paywatch’s EWA solution gives employees greater control over when to access their earned wages, while guarding them against predatory lending practices. “We’re thrilled to work with Visa to reinforce our commitment to financial inclusion…