Ata Plus, an equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform and Recognised Market Operator (RMO) registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia, announced the appointment of Karen Puah as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). At Ata Plus, aside from amplifying the brand visibility, Karen will focus on growing the stakeholder ecosystem to drive deal flow generation, expand investor channels and value-added services. Additionally, she will also look into exploring new areas of growth, business opportunities and revenue streams. Karen was recently elected as the President of The Fintech Association of Malaysia, having previously held the Vice-President position for 2 terms. At present, she is…

IDEMIA, a solutions provider in the Augmented Identity space, has been selected by Merchantrade a Money Services Business Operator and e-money player, to enhance the onboarding of customers for two of its mobile-enabled services. Merchantrade will leverage on IDEMIA’s Identity Proofing Platform to enable quick and secure registration of mobile customers on its digital multi-currency ewallet, Merchantrade Money, and its app-based remittance service, eRemit. “IDEMIA is dedicated to support fintechs around the world to differentiate their customer onboarding journeys. We are pleased to work with Merchantrade to innovate the way they identify, verify and onboard customers, which will help users…

Malaysian startup CoinGecko started out as a side project back in 2014 but has since grown into one of the biggest crypto data providers in the world, boasting 10 million users and 200 million page views monthly. The startup is now striving to become the go-to crypto data platform for a future where its founders believe tokenization will the norm. “On CoinGecko right now, you only see like 7,000 coins or tokens, … [but] given the current trajectory and where the market is going, we see a future where there’s millions of tokens in the market,” CoinGecko’s co-founder and CEO…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), through its Center for Financial Health programme, today launched an accelerator  to develop the Islamic fintech innovation ecosystem in Malaysia’s Islamic capital market (ICM). The programme, known as the FIKRA Islamic Fintech Accelerator Programme (FIKRA), aims to identify and scale relevant and innovative Islamic fintech solutions that can help address three main challenge areas; new ICM offerings, accessibility and social finance integration. FIKRA is designed to turn ideas into real-life solutions taking innovators through the entire value chain from ideation, solutions validation, prototype building, creating a fundraising…

Southeast Asian integrated car e-commerce platform Carsome, has entered a partnership with Aspirasi, the micro-financing and micro-insurance provider under Axiata Digital, to offer data-backed digital financing solutions to used car dealers in Malaysia. The collaboration aims to provide hassle-free and seamless financing solutions to used car dealers who are now eligible for financing of up to 80 percent of its transaction value. The underwriting process, based on Carsome’s data in credit scoring, pricing, and structured financing, requires minimal documentation which they said willl shorten approval and disbursement turnaround time. According to Carsome Co-founder and Group CEO Eric Cheng, the financing…

Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd, Axiata Digital’s fintech holding arm announced today a 68.75% equity acquisition into Indonesia’s, PT Creative Mobile Adventure which operates a telco supply chain model financing business under the brand KIMO and is a licensed P2P lending entity under OJK (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) The company said that the acquisition of the peer-to-peer licensee that operates a lending platform in Indonesia is a key growth engine for Boost Holdings to widen its reach to the underserved micro and small enterprises regionally. Sheyantha Abeykoon, Chief Executive Officer of Boost Holdings said, “ The acquisition is part of our…

Finology, a Malaysian fintech that specialises in enabling seamless lending and insurance for consumers and businesses, was crowned as Seedstars World 2020/2021 Competition’s winner. Representing Asia, Finology was up against the top companies from 4 other regions; Africa, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Latin America (LATAM). The Seedstars contestants were judged based on their products’ traction, scalability, profitability, and defensibility. Seedstars is a Swiss-based investment holding with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets, annually holds the Seedstars World Competition to scout for the most promising startups globally. The competition concluded…

GHL Systems announced that the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) feature PayLater by Grab will be available to its selected online merchants utilising the eGHL Payment Gateway. PayLater is a payment option piloted by Grab to provide users with a way to pay for their online purchases and manage their monthly cash flow. This news follows GHL’s recent partnership with Visa to similarly enable their Visa Instalments solution, Users can choose to make a single payment at the end of the month or split their payments into four monthly instalments with zero interest charge. Prior to this, GHL and GrabPay…

The RM300 million eBelia programme, one of the initiatives announced by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) under Budget 2021, will be offered through four e-wallet service providers namely BigPay, Boost, ShopeePay and TNG eWallet. The list had surprisingly excluded GrabPay. The previous programmes named ePenjana and eTunai similarly offered cash disbursements via e-wallets selected Boost, TNG eWallet and GrabPay for the job. The four e-wallets have a combined active user base of 30 million and a network of more than 1 million merchants, both online and offline. Two million eligible Malaysian youths can claim RM150 in the form of e-wallet…

The Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM) hosted its fourth Annual Grand Meeting (AGM) virtually in which the association elected Karen S. Puah as its president. According to a statement by FAOM, Karen will be the first woman to helm the position of President among the national fintech associations throughout ASEAN. Karen S. Puah, FAOM’s reigning President said, “We have come a long way since our inception in 2017, and that’s owed to the dedication of the past Presidents and Committees. I’m honoured to receive the torch from our outgoing President, Ridzuan Aziz and hope to carry the vision that him,…

HSBC Malaysia has launched EZInvest, a new unit trust investment platform on its mobile app to provide customers round the clock access to their investment portfolio. The EZInvest feature is available to both HSBC and HSBC Amanah customers. According to the bank, customers can log on to the HSBC mobile app for access to a selected list of unit trusts. HSBC Amanah customers can also take advantage of the range of shariah-compliant funds available on EZInvest. With multi-layer log on security verification methods, customers’ financial information is protected by a combination of biometric verification, unique username and password, or a…

Luno announced that it is the first digital asset exchange in Malaysia to be approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia to offer Bitcoin Cash (BCH) for trading on its platform. Chin Wei Min, Executive Director for Digital Strategy and Innovation at Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) had revealed during Fintech News Malaysia’s 8th episode of Fintech Fireside Asia series that they have provisionally approved Bitcoin Cash as the 5th crypto to be traded on a regulated platform. Bitcoin Cash is now part of Luno’s growing list of digital asset offerings in Malaysia which includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and…

GHL Systems has embarked on a partnership with Visa to be the first in ASEAN to introduce Visa Instalments for clients using its eGHL Payment Gateway platform. Visa Instalments turns already approved issuer credit lines into instalment payment options at checkout for Visa cardholders. This move is presumably Visa’s response to the growing Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) trend which allows users to split their payments in interest-free installments. If eligible, the customer is presented the offer at the point of purchase, either on a payment terminal screen in-store or checkout page online, and can then complete the purchase in…

FIS, an American Fortune 500 company which offers a wide range of financial products and services, announced that it is expanding its payment processing capabilities into the rapidly growing markets of Malaysia, South Africa and Nigeria. The company has secured a domestic acquiring license in Malaysia to provide its Worldpay payment processing platform. Through its Worldpay product portfolio, FIS is said to process billions of transactions annually across 146 countries and more than 300 payments types in 126 currencies. As part of its growth strategy, FIS aims to enhance its merchant acquiring presence in additional markets, enabling the company to…

Over the past year, companies have had to accelerate their digital transformation just to survive. Their investments were essential to retain customers, do business remotely, keep orders flowing and manage supply chains. While most companies are already on their way to execute digital strategies, the pandemic revealed the extent to which the entire ecosystem is still not connected effectively. FICO commissioned The Asian Banker to survey more than 5000 digital banking customers in 10 key Asia-Pacific countries on their experiences. FICO revealed that 61 percent of Malaysian consumers prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial…

Tranglo, a cross-border payment processing hub, announced that it will power the cross-border payments of OmiPay, an Australian mobile payment platform, across its global network. The deal will allow OmiPay to gain access to Tranglo’s local payment distribution channels, especially the Southeast Asian and Chinese markets. In particular, Tranglo and OmiPay are working together to increase the accessibility and affordability of cross-border payments. Tranglo will provide localised payouts through integration with all popular payment methods, including digital payments through e-wallets. OmiPay will benefit from Tranglo Connect and its single access point and seamless integration. This comes as OmiPay seeks to…

INFOPRO, the global banking software and solutions company, has been named winner of Fintech Futures’ Banking Tech Awards 2020 in the ‘Best Core Banking Solution Provider’ category. This prestigious award recognizes INFOPRO’s AI-driven Digital Banking platform – A new generation digital banking platform built with innovative technology enablers, open APIs, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytic, that can be optimized through cloud deployment. “This is a proud moment for INFOPRO. We are honored to be recognized as Best Core Banking Solution Provider. Our banking solutions adhere to global best practices and standards. Being a CMMI Level 5 company and ISO 9001…

Malaysian insurtech company PolicyStreet.com has partnered with Carput, a homegrown automotive assistance platform, to offer car insurance. By teaming up with insurance technology company PolicyStreet.com, Carput said that customers will be able to experience greater ease in the car insurance renewal process with just 3 simple steps. PolicyStreet.com’s existing site infrastructure will enable Carput Cover clients to compare motor insurance instantly and seamlessly on a secure platform. The service named Carput Cover is the latest addition to the company’s list of automotive services, which include battery replacement and towing facilities. Carput said that Malaysians can now obtain quotes from 10…

It goes without saying that 2020 was a tumultuous year on the back of the pandemic that has unfortunately affected the livelihood of millions, which also served as fuel for the rapid growth of Malaysia’s fintech space. In our latest fintech Malaysia report 2021, we deep dive into the adoption across various fintech verticals, look at some key movements and regulatory updates within the local fintech space. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank BigPay for partnering with us to produce this report and our generous sponsors; GHL, pitchIN, CapBay, Payfo and Jirnexu for helping us make…

The Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) has co-invested RM165 million in 5,349 Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) and Peer-to-Peer Financing (P2P) campaigns, benefitting 1,197 Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by the end of 2020. Since its October 2019 inception, these co-investments were deployed alongside private sector investments which totalled RM431 million. MyCIF, a fund administered by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) on behalf of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), has also generated a positive net return on capital as at the end of 2020. The SC reported the fund’s activities and performance up to end December 2020 in MyCIF’s inaugural annual…