Author: Fintech News Malaysia

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and Bursa Malaysia has rolled out a new mandatory onboarding programme on sustainability for directors of Public Listed Companies (PLCs) on the exchange. The Mandatory Accreditation Programme (MAP) Part II: Leading for Impact (LIP) is an extension to the existing MAP, now known as MAP Part I under the Bursa Malaysia Main Market and ACE Market Listing Requirements (collectively known as the LR). LIP has been curated to focus on the baseline knowledge and key considerations surrounding sustainability, including questions which boards should direct towards management in the effort to ensure a more robust and…

Hong Leong Islamic Bank today announced that Dafinah Ahmed Hilmi has stepped up as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dafinah is succeeding Jasani Abdullah, who retired at the end of April 2023 after 16 years of service at HLISB, of which 6 years spent at the helm as CEO of the Islamic banking arm of Hong Leong Bank (HLB). She brings with her 23 years of conventional and Islamic banking experience. Dafinah previously held leadership roles across various areas of banking, including her last role as Director of Commercial Banking at HSBC Amanah Malaysia. For the past 19 years,…

Malaysian insurtech company PolicyStreet has raised a total of RM67 million (US$15.3 million) in a Series B fundraising round led by the country’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional. The round was also joined by other local and international investors, including Altara Ventures, Gobi Partners and Spiral Ventures. PolicyStreet said that it intends to use the funds to strengthen its technology and underwriting capabilities. It aims to increase its on-demand underwriting policies to make protection more accessible and better tap into underserved and underinsured audience segments in Malaysia and the region. Founded in 2017 by Yen Ming Lee, Wilson Beh and…

Malaysian e-money service provider Bayo Pay has secured RM10 million (US$2.2 million) in a Series A funding round, according to a report by TechNode Global. The funds invested came from Softbank-backed VentureTECH SBI who poured in RM7 million (US$1.52 million) while VentureTECH contributed RM3 million (US$650,000). The funds will be used to expand Bayo Pay’s client base, increase collaborative-based income and further deepen its focus in its niche verticals. Bayo offers a platform-based Payment System-as a-Service to its clients via white-labelling its technology and payment system rails needed to offer various financial and non-financial products. The firm is regulated by…

Velmie, a digital banking solutions provider, has released an advanced white-label UI that is said to help fintechs reduce time-to-market by 75%. Building a front end from scratch for a fintech product is a challenging and time-consuming task. Achieving the desired user experience often involves conducting multiple rounds of UX testing to fine-tune the interface, navigation, and overall usability. The user experience (UX) of a fintech application is not limited to its visual design but extends to the integration with back-end APIs, business logic, compliance processes, and marketing strategies and involves the efforts of engineering, design, and product resources. Thus,…

The banking sector has undergone a significant transformation thanks to the introduction of cloud and open-source technologies. Previously, banks relied on legacy systems and proprietary software, resulting in operations being siloed, scalability being limited, and high costs. However, with the advent of cloud and open-source technologies, banks can adopt a more agile and collaborative approach to innovation. In an interview, Jimmy Ng, Chief Information Officer and Group Head of Technology and Operations at DBS, and Marjet Andriesse, Senior Vice President (SVP) and General Manager of Asia Pacific Japan and China at Red Hat, delved into the role of cloud and…

In a notable move to evolve its advisory, staff, and client services, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors has formed a strategic alliance with cloud-based wealth management data platform platform KoiZai. The collaboration aims to leverage advanced financial technology solutions. As a provider of comprehensive financial planning and wealth management modelling tools, KoiZai leverages robust data to generate deep analytics. The partnership signals a step forward in positioning UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors (UOBKHWA) at the forefront of Malaysia’s wealth management and financial planning industry. The decision to align with KoiZai stems from UOBKHWA’s proactive stance on incorporating advanced technological systems…

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) had announced today the official launch of its year-round fintech accelerator Global Fast Track 2023 (GFT). The accelerator is established through three pillars – the Global Scaleup Competition, the Business Matching Platform, and the always-on GFT Alumni Programme. InvestHK and partnering regulators of the 2023 GFT, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Insurance Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission, together with the Customs and Excise Department, set the goal and vision to facilitating the world’s most innovative fintech firms to launch and succeed in Hong Kong, across Asia, and beyond. This year, InvestHK appointed WHub…

Digital financing platform Funding Societies has rolled out a suite of Shariah-compliant financing solutions for creditworthy and underserved Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) seeking to grow their business. These Islamic financing solutions include Business Term Financing-i, Micro Financing-i, and Invoice Financing-i. Interested SMEs can apply for these financing solutions online. According to Funding Societies, there are zero collateral requirements for this. Following a soft launch in May 2022, Funding Societies said that the Shariah-compliant financing propositions have seen encouraging take-up from SMEs. The platform targets to have at least 50% of its disbursement from its Shariah-compliant financing portfolio…

The Islamic digital bank led by KAF Investment Bank aims to launch its operations by the year end or by early next year according to a report by TechNode Global. Besides KAF, the consortium also comprises local fintech startups MoneyMatch and Jirnexu as well as Malaysia’s first unicorn and used cars digital marketplace Carsome. In May last year, the digital banking consortium had appointed Rafiza Ghazali as the CEO given her experience in both the private and public sectors. Carsome’s Co-founder and CEO Eric Cheng said that the consortium is currently in the midst of pinning down the launch date.…

This year’s SCxSC Fintech Conference on 31 May 2023 aims to explore and harness the role of alternative financing avenues for the agriculture sector. This free conference is organised by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM), Agrobank and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Themed “GROW – Fostering Innovative Finance in Agriculture”, the event aims to connect investors, agri-preneurs, agri-tech startups, agri-fintech, and relevant agencies agribusinesses, and ecosystem builders, to network, collaborate and foster innovative financing solutions to boost agriculture development. The SC X SC GROW’s lineup of local and international…

Axiata Group is set to launch its digital bank by the end of this year with the goal to turn profitable in the next three to four years according to a Bernama report. Boost, the fintech arm of Axiata Group, and RHB Banking Group had snagged one of the five digital bank licenses issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Boost has a majority stake of 60% while RHB owns the remaining 40% in the digital bank. Axiata’s CEO and Managing Director Vivek Sood said that the initial capital commitment for the digital bank would be around RM100 million. The digital…

Malaysian stockbroker Malacca Securities has launched an all-in-one global trading platform for all traders dubbed as M+ Global. This will provide investors with access to a diverse range of international investment opportunities, starting with two of the world’s largest global stock markets – the United States and Hong Kong. Users can access over 7,000 stock listings in the United States, 3,000 in Hong Kong and unlimited tradeable derivatives, including warrants, ETFs, CBBCs and REITs. This allows Malaysians to invest in major corporations such as Apple, Tesla, Alibaba, Tencent, and many more. M+ Global claims to be the first digital trading…

UOB Malaysia announced the launch of its refreshed mobile banking app UOB TMRW powered by data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to offer a more personalised banking experience for its customers. The existing UOB Malaysia’s mobile banking app that was first launched in 2017, UOB Mighty, will automatically be updated to UOB TMRW from this month onwards for all existing users. The UOB TMRW app has multidimensional capabilities in investments, payments and rewards. Through the app, customers can get an overview of their investment portfolios, including information such as mark-to-market values and real-time performances, so they can manage their wealth conveniently…

In recent times, there has been an unfortunate flurry of financial fraud cases such as scams, security breaches, unauthorised access to bank accounts and unauthorised credit card transactions. It was recently reported that losses from financial scams totaled RM39 million from October 2022 to January 2023, based on over 16,000 contacts to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC). With more and more transactions now available online, payments have become more convenient but at the same time increases the risks of fraudulent activities due to security breaches. Financial institutions play a critical role in cyber and financial security to provide a…

Malaysian insurer Tune Protect Group has rolled out two new offerings for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help them better protect their employees’ well-being and manage their own business risks. The first offering is an online employee health and life insurance by Tune Protect Life. This allows employers the flexibility to purchase life or medical insurance or both, for their employees directly on a business-to-consumer (B2C) channel. Incorporated with the insurance is a health/wellness-based rewards programme called Activ8, which aims to improve employees’ health, well-being and productivity through annual health screening and digital coaching programmes. Business owners will…

Cross-border payment hub Tranglo has partnered with Lulu Money to benefit businesses and individuals seeking efficient, fast and secure international fund transfers. Lulu Money is a currency exchange and money transfer service companies which is a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based financial services conglomerate Lulu Financial Holdings. LuLu Financial Holdings runs a proprietary Digit9 platform, an API-first model for remittance-as-a-service. Digit9 enables financial institutions to offer their services to other financial institutions and fintechs, and has a network spanning 10 countries. Meanwhile, Tranglo helps financial institutions and businesses pay through Tranglo Connect, its proprietary cross-border payments solution where it processes…

Malaysian online equities broker Rakuten Trade has introduced fractional trading for shares listed on Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The fractional share trading starts from 0.01 unit (buy) or 0.0001 unit (sell) for US stocks, ADRs and ETFs tradeable on Rakuten Trade where the brokerage fees range from RM1 to RM100. This is the second enhancement to Rakuten Trade’s U.S. trading platform as it had previously announced its foreign currency settlement services enabling investors to choose to trade in either Ringgit Malaysia or in US Dollar. Rakuten Trade reported that it had activated almost 265,000 accounts and…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has taken action against crypto trading platform Huobi Global, and its CEO Leon Li for operating a digital asset exchange (DAX) in Malaysia without registration. The SC is urging Malaysian investors who have been using Huobi Global to immediately cease trading through its platform, withdraw all their investments, and close their accounts. The commission has ordered Huobi Global to stop its operations in the country, including to disable its website and mobile application on Apple Store, Google Play and any other digital application platform. Huobi Global has also been directed to cease circulating, publishing or…

Hong Kong-based Futu Holdings will be expanding its investment platform moomoo to Malaysia, its second Southeast Asian market following its Singapore launch in June 2021. The company’s wholly-owned Malaysian subsidiary had recently received the Approval-In-Principle (AIP) for the Capital Markets Services license (CMS) from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). Futu offers market data, financial news, interactive social features, and investor education on its proprietary one-stop digital platforms, Futubull and moomoo. Its subsidiaries provide clients with investing services, including trading and clearing services for the United States, Hong Kong SAR, China Connect, Singapore, and Australia stocks, margin financing, and securities lending,…