Author: Fintech News Malaysia

RHB Banking Group has launched the second phase of its mobile Automated Teller Machine (RHB Mobile ATM) service to drive greater financial accessibility amongst the underserved communities within the State of Sarawak. The bank said that the expansion of the RHB Mobile ATM service further extends its reach in enhancing access to basic banking services for the rural communities. These services aims to primarily benefit local residents by providing them with easy access to financial access points, while facilitating the delivery of financial assistance to low-income segments. RHB Mobile ATM provides underserved rural communities basic financial facilities including cash withdrawals,…

TNG Digital, the owner and operator of Touch ‘n Go eWallet, has raised RM 750 million during its latest round of equity funding. This funding round was led by a new investment from Lazada Group and a follow-on investment by TNG Digital’s current shareholder and parent company Touch ‘n Go. TNG Digital said that this new investment solidifies the collaboration between key segment leaders, one in e-commerce and one in digital financial services and payments. The company had emerged as one of the top-funded fintechs in Malaysia when it secured US$ 75 million in funding from AIA and New York-based…

Ablr, a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform, announced that it has gone live in Malaysia. The firm currently has a network of over 30 brands in Malaysia and Singapore spanning over 250 merchant points. First-time users can download the Ablr mobile app and will need to complete the onboarding process with their mobile number. They will then need to verify their identity and link their Ablr account with either a debit or credit card. To shop using Ablr, customers will need to scan a QR code or will be directed to a payment link. Customers can then proceed to…

Banks embarking on a digital transformation journey face the tough dilemma of having to choose between building platform components in-house or buying them. But instead of these two historically binary options, there is a third alternative that combines the best of both worlds: the accelerated build, a new paper by engagement banking platform provider Backbase, says. The whitepaper, titled Accelerated build: Bridging the build vs. buy gap, introduces the concept of accelerated build, an approach that provides banks with both a quick time-to-market and high degree of customisability. According to the paper, while building in-house gives financial institutions full control…

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM) has partnered with risk management platform Feedzai to integrate the latter’s RiskOps solution onto its platform. RiskOps by Feedzai is a fully integrated cloud offering which covers device authentication, malware defense, behavioral biometrics along with a package of fraud detection scenarios from scams to account takeover. It also has a full suite of integrated Fraud and AML solutions from customer due diligence to watchlist screening and transaction monitoring. According to earlier reports, ARBM will be launching its digital bank in 2022 that will be headed by Ikram Khaliq as the Head of Digital Bank. ARBM…

In Malaysia, regulators and policymakers are actively supporting the fintech industry by establishing a conducive regulatory environment, and through public–private partnerships. This past year has seen Malaysia unveiling a number of regulatory developments and initiatives, paving the way for greater progress and growth in the fintech space. The Fintech Report Malaysia 2022, produced by Fintech News Malaysia and sponsored by Merchantrade Money, VSure.life, GHL and pitchIN, gives an overview of the domestic fintech ecosystem, delving into the local fintech startup scene, the key developments observed over the past year, and the main trends emerging from the sector. 2022 has so…

Touch ‘n Go (TNG) Group has partnered with the Payment Network Malaysia (PayNet) to launch the ‘Mai Kita Cashless’ campaign for merchants and consumers at the Pasar Tani Kekal in Changlun, Kedah. They are encouraged to change their business operations strategy with Touch ‘n Go eWallet and DuitNow QR as the primary mode of payment. The campaign focuses on the communities in three villages within the area of Changlun, namely Kampung Baru Changloon, Kampung Paya Nongmi, and Kampung Tradisi Lembah Keriang. There are over 300 merchants at Pasar Tani Kekal and the surrounding areas. From now till 31 August 2022,…

Malaysian digital insurer VSure.life announced its expansion to the United Kingdom to make it affordable for small businesses to access insurance. VSure has aligned with local player McGill and Partners, a boutique (re)insurance broker specialising in creating bespoke, game-changing solutions for clients, to increase its market penetration in the UK. The company has also collaborated with specialist insurance expert Pro MGA Global Solutions to gain a better grasp and understanding of the UK insurance scene. As an appointed representative of Pro MGA Global Solutions, the company has obtained its Managing General Agent (MGA) licence. This enables VSure to carry out…

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has formed a partnership with Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) to roll out its first ‘Project Cashless Kampung’ in Sekinchan, Selangor. This project aims to push for financial inclusion by ensuring all 24,000 Sekinchan residents have access to full-fledged banking facilities and services. The initial phase will see HLB facilitating the opening of bank accounts and debit cards issuance for the residents without them needing to visit a bank branch. The partnership is also looking to empower 800 small business owners to digitalise their businesses through the acceptance of cashless and contactless payments. In line with this,…

DOKU, an Indonesian electronic payment solutions provider, announced that it has acquired Malaysian online payment gateway senangPay for US$7.5 million by raising the funds needed from Apis Growth Fund II. The acquisition of senangPay marks the beginning of DOKU’s expansion overseas and its efforts to reach a wider business segment especially SMEs. Through DOKU’s acquisition, senangPay is planning to strengthen and expand services beyond online payment gateway, adopting new services such as e-wallet, remittance, and offline transaction such as Tap On Glass, M2M (mobile to mobile) and more. With these new offerings, senangPay said that it will enable the transition…

Silverlake Axis, an ASEAN core banking solutions provider headquartered in Malaysia, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces. Under the deal, Silverlake will be able to offer Finastra’s trade finance solutions – including Fusion Trade Innovation and Fusion Corporate Channels – to customers in ASEAN in addition to its extensive line of universal banking offerings. Branded as ‘Silverlake Vision Trade Finance’, the collaboration aims to provide an end-to-end suite of solutions that can underpin the operations of corporate banks seeking to tap into the intra- and extra-ASEAN trade…

Payment service company GHL Systems (GHL) has launched the “GHL QR Payment”, an all-in-one QR code payment channel in Thailand for merchants to easily receive payment. This combines multiple QR code and e-wallet providers on a single payment platform which is available through the popular messaging app LINE. The offering was developed on the LINE official account as an alternative for merchants to receive secure QR payments based on the EMVco standard QR code. GHL said that it is expecting this to cascade into a full range of businesses ranging from big corporations and retail businesses to MSMEs and gig…

More than three quarters (77%) of Malaysian consumers want their bank or financial institution to become more sustainable in the future, according to a new report from cloud banking platform Mambu. “Is the grass greener on the sustainable side?” report also found that 65% of respondents would consider switching to a bank with a stronger commitment to sustainability. The report surveyed over 6,000 consumers globally, and over 500 from Malaysia, on their attitudes to green finance globally. It reveals that, while most consumers are in favour of greener financial options, they have little trust in the industry’s sustainability credentials, with…

RHB Banking Group has further enhanced its RHB REFLEX Premium Plus digital platform driven by an Application Programming Interface (API) integration with selected partners, to provide accounting and human resource (HR) solutions for its SME customers. RHB Reflex Premium Plus is a cloud-based platform to help SMEs juggle all aspects of their business operations via an all-in-one online banking ecosystem. The enhanced version of the digital platform brings forward an integration that offers more options for accounting and payroll connectivity, as well as provide a more holistic ecosystem proposition for business owners. Through this API integration of accounting and HR…

The Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) said that its appeal to be granted a digital bank license will be given serious consideration by the Malaysian government. Previously, Angkasa and Boustead Holdings had jointly announced in July 2021 that they will be submitting an application for one of the licenses. According to Angkasa, the reason why the appeal will be given due consideration is apparently for the benefit of the seven million members of the cooperative and the community as a whole. This development was revealed when the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato ‘Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, attended the National…

Insurance is a crucial part of any good financial planning. Without sufficient protection offered by insurers, it is easy to fall into financial ruin if even a person’s savings are substantial. Malaysia’s insurance and takaful penetration rates however are dismally low with only 54% of Malaysians having any form of insurance coverage. This is especially overrepresented in the lower-income populations. According to a paper by the central bank, BNM, there are a few reasons for this. Core ones include low productivity and the limited geographical reach of the agency network, in addition to the focus of bancassurance channels on products…

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced that it has made four new senior appointments that took effect on 1 July 2022. The SC has appointed Datin Azalina Adham as Executive Director of newly created business group Strategy and Policy. Leveraging her vast experience in the financial and capital markets, Azalina will help drive the SC’s strategic direction in a number of critical areas including corporate planning, risk management and international relations to further develop the capital market. Additionally, the SC has also appointed media and communications specialist Datuk Seri Abdul Jalil Hamid as Executive Director, Strategic Communications and Chairman’s Office…

Close to seven in 10 Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) expressed their interest in engaging with digital banks, according to Visa’s SMB Digital Banking Study. This is quite timely given the Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent announcement on the five digital banking licenses being awarded. Digital banking could potentially address the top-of-mind challenges faced by almost nine in 10 Malaysian SMEs, including access to financing due to complicated application procedures (37%), high interest rates (36%), and loan approvals (29%). Based on the study, SMEs shared that the top reasons for wanting to use services offered by digital banks include having…

Despite realizing the opportunities brought about data and analytics, banks and financial institutions in Asia-Pacific (APAC) are still struggling to draw critical insights from their data in an effective and timely manner. This is one of the findings drawn from a new study by tech provider InterSystems and data analyst firm Vitreous World. The survey, which polled 176 line of business leaders in APAC, sought to uncover the biggest technology and data challenges faced by financial services organization across the region, as well as their key data initiatives and priorities for the coming year. Results show that while most financial institutions have…

Luno, a licensed digital asset exchange,  will be available in the Malay language and roll out more localised content to support Malaysians on their crypto learning journey. This is a part of its latest campaign ‘Move with Luno’ which aims to empower Malaysians to build their understanding of digital assets and investing as part of financial literacy, and will use education to dispel common misconceptions around cryptocurrencies. To showcase the campaign, Luno has appointed national athletes Pandelela Rinong (Olympic diver) and Mohamad Zaquan Adha (professional footballer) as its brand ambassadors. The athletes will spearhead ‘Move with Luno’, sharing their personal…