Blockchain/Bitcoin

Malaysia’s Blockchain Industry Responds to SC’s Stance On Crypto

									by Fintech News Malaysia
January 29, 2019
0 comments

They say it’s always darkest before the dawn. That is just an enigmatic way to say that industry confusion is to be expected in the interim of the Securities Commission’s (SC) reveal of cryptocurrency regulations—at least for those that fall under the purview of securities as per Order 2019.
Finance Minister Lim Guang Eng’s statement that illegal ICOs and cryptocurreny exchanges could face hefty jail times and fines had a sobering effect on blockchain-related players in Malaysia, and gave these upcoming regulations a sense of tangible impact.
With Order 2019 active since the 15th of January 2019, a moratorium on promotion and ICOs, and a grace period for crypto-related playes to report themselves, affected players from blockchain providers to advocacy groups have expressed distinct responses to the regulator.

MDEC
Image Credit: MDEC
MDEC is a government-owned agency launched in 1996 to pioneer the transformation of Malaysia’s digital economy.
“Malaysia has a positive opportunity to be competitive globally in the blockchain space, and MDEC looks forward to be working closely with Ministry of Finance, Securities Commission and other relevant bodies, to help shape the comprehensive regulations and guidelines to be released by end Q1 2019 as this will provide greater clarity to the industry especially on the definition of digital assets.
Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM)
Image Credit: FAOM

“As an industry association which seeks to provide our fintech members and other key stakeholders with business connectivity, networking and funding opportunities as well as clarity with respect to national policies related to fintech development, FAOM carries a vital role as a sounding board to collectively advocate for a pro-technology environment in Malaysia that is conducive for both public and private sector stakeholders.” said Ridzuan Aziz, President of FAOM.
FAOM aims to continue observing the release of the guidelines from the SC, and actively seek input from their members in pushing for adoption of digital assets, while keeping an eye out that investor protection is upheld.
It is perhaps in light of its position that FAOM sees SC’s move as a step towards the right direction for clarity in the use of digital currencies and crypto-assets, specifically where it involves investment funds from the retail public. To FOAM, there should be a balance for the the frictionless use-case of digital tokens for capital-raising against its inherent risk which warrants appropriate control measures.
NEM Foundation
Image Credit: NEM Blockchain Center
The NEM Foundation works to promote and commercialise the NEM blockchain platform which can back creation of digital assets and utilisation of blockchain for enterprise and consumer adoption.
While regulatory clarity is much needed in NEM’s opinion, they have some concerns:
“Many industry players were taken by surprise with a sudden blanket statement on the ruling for all digital currencies and digital tokens. Some exchanges responded by temporarily shutting down operations while awaiting clarification.”

“Thankfully, the authorities have acted quickly to garner industry feedback and we are very appreciative of the swift response on the part of the regulator, Securities Commission.”
NEM’s stance was in reference to a Securities Commission statement that can be construed as a blanket consideration all crypto-related products as securities. The SC has clarified that the consideration of whether a crypto-asset is a security or not will depend on its usage at the time, and on a use-case basis.
“The landing would have been much softer if the Government had engaged with the industry first before any ratification. The ramifications can be significant, especially when the underlying technology is a necessary solution to it, more so when the very same technology can be used to power solutions that may not fall under the purview of the above Order.”

“We hope the government and industry can come together to collaborate for a forward-looking framework that will ensure the leadership of Malaysia in this space for years to come,” they concluded, alluding to the quick turnaround of technology in the nascent blockchain scene.
NEM’s statement was supported by LuxTag and ProximaX, both blockchain-based products whose offerings utilise blockchain technology without being cryptocurrency exchanges or issuing ICOs.
ACCESS Blockchain Association
Image Credit: ACCESS Blockchain
Disclaimer: The statement was released prior to the Securities Commission’s clarification on their consideration on digital assets as per Order 2019.
ACCESS is a blockchain association consisting of various players affiliated with blockchain, and serves, in parts, as an advocacy group.
While the organisation appreciates the need for investor protection and good enforcement of AMLA and KYC practices, they are “confident that these goals can be met without stifling innovation or introducing high barriers of entry; through a measured and balanced approach.”
“With the broad classification of digital assets as securities, we fear that Malaysians will be excluded from participating in the global ecosystem when our neighbouring countries are actively ramping up engagement and innovation in the space.”

“We are actively pursuing further consultation and dialogue with the regulators and welcome feedback from our members and the public.”
Luno

“Until the new regulations are in place, the SC’s interim requirements prevent us from accepting new customers,” said Luno regarding the SC’s ban on promotional activities as regulations are being finalised.
“However, nothing will change for existing customers. You can continue to buy, sell, send, receive, and store Bitcoin and Ethereum, and withdraw your Malaysian Ringgit. Luno is excited about the opportunity to apply for a license once the new regulations are in place.”

“Doing so will get us another step closer to again accepting your Malaysian ringgit deposits, and enabling more and more people to buy, store and learn about cryptocurrencies.”
Luno has experienced some difficulties in Malaysia when in January last year, the Internal Revenue Board (IRB) temporarily froze the bank account of BitX Malaysia (Luno’s local entity) as they investigate on tax matters. Luno was able to begin processing pending withdrawals from Maybank in March last year.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

SC Finally Reveals its Anticipated Regulations for Crypto Exchanges

									by Vincent Fong
January 31, 2019
7 comments

January has been no picnic for Malaysia’s crypto-exchanges, with the possibility of RM10 Million fine and 10 years jail time looming over them ever since the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 was announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Fortunately the uncertainty has been lifted off the air with Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) issuing its much anticipated framework for crypto-exchanges.
The new framework will fall under the purview of its Guidelines on Regconised Markets, which is the same that is used to regulate Equity Crowdfunding and P2P lending players. Under the same guideline, the regulator has amended a section to introduce new requirements for crypto exhanges.

Requirements for Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Operate in Malaysia under the New Guideline
The revised guidelines categorises crypto exchanges as Digital Asset Exchange Operators. In summary here are few requirements that cryptocurrency exchanges will need to comply with in order to operate in Malaysia.
Though for a more precise read it would be best to head over to Securities Commission Malaysia’s website to get the full details of the guideline.

5 Million paid capital upon approval and prior to commencement
Restriction on providing financial assistance to investors/customers for the purposes of purchasing cryptocurrencies/digital assets
A robust risk management system needs to be put in place to ensure a high degree of security and reliability.
Cryptocurrencies and digital assets have to be approved by SC prior to listing on the exchange
Have clear rules and procedures in place for the trading, clearing and settlement of Digital Assets on the platform
Provide clear, concise and fair disclosures that are not misleading to investors
To only allow trade to be carried out using Ringgit Malaysia and other legal tenders
Establish one or more trust account in a licensed financial institution in Malaysia

The regulator also noted on point No.1 that the minimum paid capital is subject to additional financial requirements on a case by case basis based on the operations and risks posed by the exchange.
Under the revised guidelines, any person who is interested in operating a digital asset platform is required to apply to the SC to be registered as a recognized market operator by 1 March 2019
Commenting on the new guideline Datuk Syed Zaid Albar, SC Chairman said, “The new framework is part of the SC’s efforts to promote innovation while ensuring investor protection in the trading of digital assets,”He added that while there is a framework to facilitate the trading of digital assets, investors are reminded to be mindful of the risks when dealing in digital assets such as sudden price fluctuations and liquidity risks.
Meanwhile, guidelines for ICOs have yet to be released and is slated for end of March 2019.

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Payments

Silicon Valley Payments Darling Stripe Arrives in Malaysia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
February 8, 2019
0 comments

In a tweet by Silicon Valley-based Stripe’s CEO, Patrick Collison, he seemed to confirm that the company has commenced with beta testing in Malaysia. This tweet follows the company’s talked about expansion into Southeast Asia. Setting up Stripe Malaysia was seemingly just a matter of time once the company asked about setting up a Singapore-based hub.

We’re kicking off our betas—and seeing our first customers go live—in 6 new countries today! Delighted to take our first steps in Estonia, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, and Malaysia. 🇪🇪🇵🇱🇬🇷🇱🇹🇱🇻🇲🇾
You can sign up for these betas at https://t.co/RhO6idSghy.
— Patrick Collison (@patrickc) February 6, 2019

Stripe is one of Silicon Valley’s more prominent payments processing companies, producing API software that now services Fortune 500 companies.
The company is famous for starting with just a few lines of code, and slowly growing their offerings as demands for online purchases grew thanks to digitisation of retail firms, and rise of software-based subscription services like Spotify.
According to Fortune, Stripe’s roots lie in small businesses that look to dabble in e-commerce, but the platform it has since gained coveted customers such as Google, Microsoft, Uber, Spotify, and Salesforce, among others.
With a stated Southeast Asia strategy, it wouldn’t surprise us if Stripe stays true to its initial SME strategy during its expansion. It’s been a good period to run an SME here in Malaysia as both the government and banks wake up to the power of the small business in driving income, and slowly, solutions are introduced to address their needs.
But that could serve as a double-edged sword for Stripe here, with a scene that is rife with competition. For now, it seems like volume is the game for Stripe’s expansion though, and it will remain to be seen if this Silicon Valley darling can find a foothold in Malaysia.
Featured Image Credit: Flickr

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E-Wallets
Payments

Boost E-Wallet’s CEO Chris Tiffin Steps Down

									by Fintech News Malaysia
February 11, 2019
0 comments

Last Friday, Boost’s CEO Chris Tiffin announced the end of his tenure as Boost Malaysia’s CEO. He has held that position for a little over two years now, as well as serving as Axiata’s Regional Head of Digital Financial Services.
Chris has yet to reveal what his next move is, but his varied employment history seems to indicate that Chris may spread his wings to another region altogether.
Axiata has yet to announce Chris’ replacement as well.

Throughout Chris’ two-year tenure, the Boost e-wallet app has reportedly gained 3.5 million customers and 60,000 merchant touch points. One could arguably call Boost one of the better-performing e-wallets in Malaysia too, which many would attribute to the platform’s shake for cashback feature.
According to a post by Chris, this was one of Boost’s measures to make the app stand out.

“This is where gamification comes in, to introduce the element of fun and loyalty,” he said.
“We changed up the traditional loyalty process with Boost, by leveraging on phone gestures and movements, as well as the trend of customer behaviours favouring instant gratification, to be our key differentiator. Thus, the Shake Rewards were born. With this feature, we managed to weave in the fun factor, thereby boosting a mundane task.”

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Payments

GHL Enables Singaporeans to Use Their Debit Card Scheme NETS in Malaysia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
February 26, 2019
1 comment

Singaporeans visiting Malaysia will now be able to make card payments using NETS ATM cards thanks a recent collaboration between Paynet and NETS.
Currently, the payment acceptance for the NETS scheme is available to cards issued by Singaporean banks like DBS, POSB, OCBC and UOB at selected merchants in Johor. This includes shopping malls like JB City Square, KSL City and Sutera.
By enabling Singaporeans to use the national debit card scheme, they no longer have to worry about foreign transaction fees. This move will likely increase the use of card payments by Singaporeans once the acceptance becomes more ubiquitous.

An estimated 13 million Singaporeans visit Malaysia on an annual basis and there are approximately 11 million NETS cards issued. CNBC once reported that the route between Malaysia and Singapore is the busiest in the world.

GHL’s Group CEO, Mr Danny Leong said,
“GHL is glad to be able to extend payment acceptance at our merchant base to include NETS as we believe this is a win win for both the Malaysian businesses as well as Singapore visitors to Malaysia. This cashless route for both sides will enable easier payments and we believe will lead to higher level of cashless transactions at Malaysian merchants.”

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How Cashless is Malaysia Right Now?

E-Wallets
Payments

How Cashless is Malaysia Right Now?

									by Fintech News Malaysia
February 26, 2019
3 comments

Between Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) ICTF and the more recently announced Real-Time Retail Payments (RPP) system, an ecosystem rife with Malaysians with at least a debit card, and e-wallets to target those who do not; Malaysia seems to be well underway towards becoming a cashless society.
This is all part of BNM’s goal towards accelerating the country’s migration towards e-payments, and in turn, allow the nation to save paper costs and increase efficiency of the nation’s payment systems.
BNM even has a 10-year plan that will culminate in 2020 with the following as a goal:

The bank is working towards increasing the number of e-payment transactions, with each person in Malaysia, on average, making 200 transactions per person, as opposed to the initial 44 transactions per person when the initiative began.
BNM also aims to cut down cheque use by more than half from 207 million, to 100 million per year.
Measures to achieve this aim include providing the right price signals to encourage the switch from paper-based payments to e-payments, and facilitating wider outreach of e-payments infrastructure, such as point-of-sale terminals and mobile phone banking.
Where Malaysia’s Cashlessness Stands in 2018

As for transaction volumes per capita, 2018 saw e-money being used most often, at 58.4 (56.2%) times per person on average. The next most frequently used method of payment is via internet banking, at 18.7 (18%) times per person on average.
However, the values of these transactions paints an interesting picture. At 333.4 (0.23%), the total value of e-money use does not stand a chance against internet banking’s 140,426.8 (95%), or even credit cards 4,110.2 (2.8%). This shows that as far as user behaviours go, Malaysians use e-money to pay for small transactions rather frequently. While much of the high-value payments in 2018 are done via internet banking. The values for internet banking may be emboldened somewhat by the fact that many Malaysians make payments for their cars, home or insurance via internet banking.
The value for credit cards would probably be higher if more Malaysians owned credit cards. Credit card ownership as of 2018 totals at approximately 10.3 million as opposed to 42.5 million debit card users.
Cash in Circulation is Still High
Between 2014 to 2018, the amounts of cash in circulation continues to rise despite efforts towards cashlessness. However, the chart above shows an obvious decline in the amounts of cash added into circulation between 2017 (92, 347.6) to 2018 (94,307.2). There are the beginning pinpricks of digital payments’ effect on cash, but we are far from a cashless society as of now.
Here’s How Malaysia did throughout 2018

Credit card transactions throughout 2018 remains relatively stagnant, with an expected increase near the end of the year thanks to Christmas and end-of-year breaks that spurs Malaysians to go out more often.

Debit-based transactions however, saw a notable spike throughout the year that more definitively hints towards BNM’s advocacy bearing fruit. Compared to credit cards, it’s easier for Malaysians to acquire debit cards. Furthermore, BNM’s advocacy efforts may have spurred more retailers to bring card readers into their retail businesses.
2018 also saw a higher number of SME merchants like smaller mall kiosks adopt the AirPOS by GHL card reader, which makes it easier for them to accept payments.

Meanwhile, the volume of transactions for e-money somewhat shows an upwards incline, but the volumes remain erratic perhaps based on what e-money issuer has just gained critical traction, or periods of more cashbacks and promotions. As of now, many Malaysians still only opt for e-wallets or e-money when there are discounts or cashbacks that make the product more enticing.
The value, as described above remains small compared to volume of e-money transactions, and does not seem to tally with the volumes either.
Clearer indications may appear in 2019, as the e-money scene continues to mature in Malaysia.
We wouldn’t count Malaysia a cashless society just yet. Though we may overshoot the 2020 goals as outlined by BNM, Malaysia does seem to be well on its way towards cashlessness. Before the trend hits critical mass, Fintech News has outlined some concerns we should contend with so that Malaysia can reap the cashless benefits without inviting too many of the problems that may arise.

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E-Wallets
Payments

Malaysians Will Soon Be Able to Use Their Boost E-Wallet in Singapore and Thailand

									by Vincent Fong
February 28, 2019
2 comments

Thanks to a partnership agreement signed between Axiata Digital’s Boost e-wallet and Singtel’s VIA alliance, Malaysians will soon be able use their Boost mobile wallet to make payments in Singapore and Thailand.
VIA was launched by the Singtel Group in October 2018, alongside Thailand’s telco company AIS and Kasikornbank. It was set up with the intention to create a region-wide payment network that will enable consumers to use their e-wallet when travelling within Asia-Pacific.
Through VIA alliance’s network, Boost user will be able to use their mobile wallet at over 1.6 million merchant partners in Singapore and Thailand.

Both Singtel and Axiata Digital plan to jointly promote and drive cross-border payments to grow their respective user bases and merchant networks, and explore collaboration around rewards and loyalty programmes.

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E-Wallets
Payments

What Razer’s Malaysian Headquarters Launch Means for its Fintech Ambitions

									by Fintech News Malaysia
February 28, 2019
2 comments

Razer today announced the official opening of its new country headquarters in Malaysia, housing over 280 employees within The Vertical at UOA Corporate Towers. The event was graced by Malaysia’s Minister for Finance Lim Guan Eng, as well as Minister for Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman.
The appeal to e-sports is obvious, but Razer has fintech ambitions in mind for its Malaysian entity.

“Razer will be investing in Malaysia as a hub for our fintech efforts in South East Asia,” said Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of Razer.

“It is the first country in the world [that received] Razer Pay, and we see the Razer Malaysia office as a natural springboard for our fintech efforts in the region.”

Razer’s Serious Fintech Efforts in Malaysia
Image Credit: Min-Liang Tan
Many have heard of the company’s rousing e-wallet downloads in Malaysia, Razer Pay having gained 300,000 Malaysian downloads in just 48 hours. According to Razer, that increased to 500,000 users in less than a week.
Seemingly in commemoration of their Malaysian offices, Razer Pay this week has been expanded to incorporate new features like in-app coupons, instant messaging, and tweaks e-wallet based experiences.
For its fintech play, Razer collaborated with brands like 7-11, Kenny Rogers Roasters, and U Mobile, providing discounts and contests with the Razer Phone as a prize.
With Bangsar South serving as Razer’s new home, merchants operating in the area will soon accept Razer Pay, and offer rewards programs via the e-wallet.
There seems to be an attempt to turn the Bangsar South area into a Razer Pay-dominated cashless zone, though only time will tell if the office workers of the area will be open to the change.
Razer also has B2B in mind, on top of the more expected consumer-facing efforts.
Razer is exploring opportunities with UOA to digitize and integrate its carpark payment system into the Razer Pay app. Once the integration is complete, carpark users can settle their parking fees using the Razer Pay app without waiting in queues.
Parking payment as a known grievance in Malaysia, and thus, low-hanging fruit for e-wallets to tackle. Boost by Axiata has also ventured into these waters last year, by allowing Malaysians to pay for public parking in DBKL’s jurisdiction.
With a fintech hub established and staffed in Malaysia, and known fintech ambitions in Southeast Asia, we should expect Razer Pay to turn up its fintech efforts in earnest soon—and for once Malaysia will be the first recipients of fintech developments from an international firm.
Featured image via Min-Liang Tan

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E-Wallets
Payments

Maybank Aims to Convert Its 4.5 Million Mobile Users to Their New E-Wallet MAE

									by Vincent Fong
March 5, 2019
1 comment

Maybank officially launched its new e-wallet MAE today, though many e-wallet enthusiasts would have already gotten their hands on it yesterday. MAE which is short for “Maybank Anytimes, Everyone” seems to be Maybank’s answer to Malaysians’ increased interest in e-wallets.
Non-Maybank customers who are interested to sign up for this service is able to do so via Maybank’s mobile app. The process is relatively straightforward and only takes a couple of minutes to complete.

After going through the registration and some basic e-KYC processes, you’ll able top up and transact using MAE as you normally would with other e-wallets.
When testing out the new app, what I thought was really cool is that if you aren’t an existing Maybank customer, the app instantly issues out a virtual VISA card, which you can then use in any e-commerce sites. The virtual card can also be used with Samsung Pay as well.
MAE features a wide range of features which includes — instant transfers, expense trackers, mobile top-ups, bill-splitting, P2P payments, QR, and contactless payments.

During the launch of MAE, Dato’ John Chong, Maybank’s Group CEO, Community Financial Services, shared that Maybank have seen 173% year on year growth in mobile transactions which grew at a significantly faster pace compared to online transactions. Shifting consumers behaviours as such likely contributed to Maybank’s increased focus into digital payments.
The bank expressed that they are optimistic they will able to progressively convert all its 4.5 million mobile users to use MAE. It is targeting to sign up at least 100,000 customers by end of 2019, which is a surprisingly low user-acquisition target in our view.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

22 Crypto Exchanges Now Seeking Approval from Securities Commission Malaysia

									by Vincent Fong
March 6, 2019
6 comments

Securities Commission Malaysia has unveiled the list of crypto exchanges that have opted to continue operations following its earlier imposed deadline for exchanges to seek regulatory approval by 1st March 2019.
Out of the 42 exchanges who were in the transitional period, only 22 were opted to submit their application to the regulator. These exchanges are allowed to continue operating for another transitional period until further notice from SC.
During this extended transitional period, these platforms are not allowed to accept new investors and will only be allowed to facilitate the withdrawal or transfer of client assets with the written instruction of the investor.

It’s important to also spell out that this 22 exchanges are not approved nor granted any license yet, but are currently pending SC’s approval
The rest of the exchanges who have opted out of operating in Malaysia are instructed by the regulator to return  cease their business and return all clients’ assets by 15 March 2019.

A. Crypto Exchanges Seeking Regulatory Approval

No.Name

1.AES Signatum Berhad

2.Arbor Digital Sdn. Bhd.

3.B4U EXC (M) Sdn. Bhd.

4.Belfrics Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

5.Bitpoint Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

6.BLOKMY Sdn. Bhd.

7.Chako Global Sdn. Bhd.

8.EZYTRONICS Sdn. Bhd. (World Cloud Ventures Sdn. Bhd.)

9.FINX Blockchain Sdn. Bhd. (FINX Capital Sdn. Bhd.)

10.GetCoinApp Sdn Bhd

11.GiGaex SdnBhd

12.Luno Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

13.MCP International Sdn Bhd

14.MX Global Sdn. Bhd.

15.PinkExc (M) Sdn. Bhd.

16.Sinegy Technologies (M) Sdn. Bhd.

17.MBAEX Online Pte Limited (Tezatech Sdn Bhd)

18.Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd.

19.UDAX International Sdn. Bhd.

20.Upbit Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

21.Vardiz Commerce Sdn. Bhd.

22.Xbit Asia Sdn. Bhd.

B. Crypto Exchanges Ceasing Operations

No.Name

1.BCMY (M) Sdn. Bhd.

2.Big X Blockchain (M) Sdn. Bhd.

3.Bit Bunks Sdn. Bhd.

4.Blockchain Street Sdn. Bhd.

5.BXM Sdn. Bhd.

6.Coinceo Sdn. Bhd.

7.Coinut Sdn. Bhd.

8.CSL Block Chain Technology Sdn. Bhd.

9.Digital Fintech Sdn. Bhd.

10.Everus Technologies Sdn. Bhd.

11.Globa Capital Berhad

12.Hartatek Resources Sdn. Bhd

13.Jonvi Marketing Sdn. Bhd.

14.Numex Sdn. Bhd.

15.OpenBit Sdn. Bhd.

16.OurCoin BlockChain Technology Sdn. Bhd

17.Quest Mining Technologies Sdn. Bhd.

18.Rocket Integration Technology Sdn. Bhd.

19.Tide Digital Sdn. Bhd.

20.UNQEX Sdn. Bhd.

21.VH Technologies Sdn. Bhd.

The full list can be found here

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

Securities Commission Malaysia Seeks Feedback for ICO Regulation

									by Vincent Fong
March 6, 2019
2 comments

In recognition of the growing public interest in ICOs, its increasing popularity among business seeking to raise funds and a need for a well regulated space, the Securities Commission Malaysia  (SC) has issued a consultation paper to seek the public feedback on its ICO framework.
Securities Commission Malaysia stated in the consultation paper that the lack of regulatory framework exposes investors to risk and makes them vulnerable to fraud and manipulation. They added that regulation is required in order to protect investors and promote confidence in the ICO market
There are few key components that are outlined in this consultation paper that the regulator is seeking feedback on.

Before we dive into that it would be prudent for to us to emphasize that we have summarised some of the key points for the purposes of making it easier to read. If you are however interested in a more detailed and specific read the document can be found here.
A Third-Party Host
Drawing from its experience in regulating ECF and P2P financing, SC proposes for the formation of 3rd party platform to host and assess ICOs, similar to how SMEs are hosting their notes on platforms like pitchIN and Funding Societies.
It is also proposed that this host is then regulated as a recognised market operator (which is the same category that ECF and P2P players are regulated under). Alternatively the framework also explores the possibility of have individuals recognised by SC to conduct the assessments.
If the regulator were to move forward with this approach as separate framework will be issued to regulate these platforms.
ICOs will also have to be approved by SC prior to be being hosted by these independent 3rd parties.
ICO Assessment Criteria
The consultation paper lays out the evaluation and assessment that will be guided by the following:

ICO issuers must be deemed fit to carry out the project sustainably based on the strategy outlined in their whitepaper. This includes the track record of the board of directors and management team
The project must be able to demonstrate a degree of innovation or a meaning digital value proposition for Malaysia
Sufficient safeguards to protect the interests of existing shareholders and token holders
The ICO’s risk must be evaluated and risk mitigation measures must be put in place alongside an assessment of the project plan of the issuer
Adequate processes to manage related party transactions and conflict of interest
Satisfactory processes to monitor AML requirements
Reasonable valuation methodology and assumption for price determination of the digital tokens
An evaluation of the protocol/code, platform or any other application for the technology, as the case may be and its cyber risk management framework.

ICO Issuer Eligibility
The framework proposes that only companies that fulfills the following criteria shall be allowed to issue ICOs in Malaysia:

Locally incorporated with its main business carried out in Malaysia
Minimum paid up capital of RM 500,000
Not publicly listed, but public listed companies are allowed to establish a separate entity to carry out an ICO. The framework explains that this is to prevent potential impact on the company’s price, valuation and shareholder rights. In addition to that the paper also proposes for the board of directors and senior management to collective hold 50% equity in the ICO issuer to ensure they are committed to the success of the ICO. The board and senior management team will not be able to dispose their equity for 18 months.

Governance Requirement

Half of the board of directors and senior management should consist of Malaysians
A member of the board or senior management team as a contact person for SC. This person shall be responsible for identifying and reporting to SC any breach of the requirements, relevant laws or material adverse change relating to the ICO or the ICO issuer.
Establish processes to effectively manage conflict of interest and risk. The ICO issuer must also have in place a business continuity management and cyber-resiliency framework

Limits on Funds Raised Through ICO
ICO issuer may raise funds calculated as a multiple of 10 times the shareholders’ funds and subject to a ceiling of RM100 million.
Requirements on the Proceeds Raised through ICO

Proceeds should be subject to Bank Negara Malaysia’s exchange controls. Which means at least 50% of the ICOs proceeds must be ultilised in Malaysia and if the ICO is asset-backed, to ensure that at least 50% of the assets are based in Malaysia
ICO issuer should only be able to withdraw monies based on the milestones disclosed in their whitepaper

Other Obligations by an Issuer

Fulfill KYC, Customer Due Dilligence and Anti Money Laundering requirements
Prohibition against 3rd party endorsement, promotion and publicity of the ICO
Annual and quarterly reporting to SC
All funds should be deposited to a seperate trust account with a licensed bank. The trust account must be maintained by an independent custodian, escrow agent or entity acting in the capacity of a trustee that is registered with the SC for carrying out capital market activities.

Whitepaper Requirements

Whitepaper must contain brief of the ICO issuer including, where applicable, the group structure and details of material entities within the group
Details and profile of the board of directors/ senior management team/promoters
Brief description of the shares and/or digital token held by the board of directors/ senior management team/ promoters
Objective or purpose and timeline of the ICO, including detailed information on the underlying business/project to be managed and operated by the ICO issuer
Business plan, including detailed description of the sustainability and scalability of the underlying business/project, and the targeted date for each major phase in the business/project
Targeted amount to be raised through the ICO and a scheduled timeline for utilisation of the proceeds including the details of each utilisation
Any rights, conditions or functions attached to digital tokens issued from the ICO including any specific rights/privileges/benefits attributed to a digital token holder
Details of the independent custodian, escrow agents or entity acting in the capacity of a trustee
Discussion on the determination of the price per digital token including the valuation methodology and reasonable assumptions adopted in such calculation
Financial information including audited financial statements or management 19 accounts (where applicable)
A detailed technical description of the protocol, platform and, or application, as the case may be, and the associated benefits of the technology
Details of the associated challenges and risks including any conflict of interest and related party transactions

The regulator welcomes feedback on its framework and members of the public keen to submit their feedback can do so via this email address before 29th March 2019

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

AIA Director Quits His Job to Build Blockchain That Could Finally Simplify Selling Cars

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 7, 2019
1 comment

“Buying a [car] is such a long and frustrating process,” lamented Arnold Aranez, CEO and founder of Cendol Technologies.
“When I bought my second-hand car, the original importer put the wrong model details so when I tried to sell it was difficult to get correct price.”

The problem that Arnold described is so mundane that it’s usually considered par for the course. The sheer number of forms one has to fill out— both on the consumer and distributor’s side— naturally leads to human error during data input and transfer even under the best of circumstances.
So Arnold and co-founder Mark Leung looks to overhaul that whole process, with blockchain as the ticket to that solution. Fast forward to yesterday, and Cendol Technologies has just announced the completion the Malaysian Vehicle Blockchain—at least version 1.0 of it.
The idea is to use the immutable blockchain to record a vehicle’s life cycle, from manufacturing all the way to customers reselling their cars.  Malaysian Vehicle Blockchain should create a trustworthy set of records at every point of a vehicle’s status change; which should result in faster and more trustworthy transactions between manufacturers, sales showrooms, banks, insurers, and second-hand car buyers.
Driving Past Preconceptions in Both Blockchain and Cars
Their venture is less about cryptocurrency and more about trust, according to Arnold:

“We want to build trust in the Malaysian vehicle ecosystem. Our blockchain focuses on establishing a secure and trusted vehicle information platform that will help all blockchain members save millions in improved data transaction efficiencies and deliver superior customer experience.”

Arnold only came across this gap in the market during his stint as a director in AIA.
“Coming from AIA I observed that the current players in the market were too busy to think of radical ways to improve the process, which is why I resigned from my director position to make a difference in society,” said Arnold.
“We hope that this will pave the way for other new tech to be built on top and around to further revolutionise the industry such as telematics and AI.”
The automotive industry in Malaysia is not insignificant. Sales of vehicles in Malaysia totalled up to RM45.07 billion in 2017, and according to the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), Malaysia’s automotive sector contributed to 4.2% to the country’s GDP last year. There is every expectation that the industry would grow to 10% of the GDP by 2020.
The Malaysia Vehicle Blockchain to Streamline the Supply Chain
To bring their baby to life, Cendol Technologies sought a partnership with R3. The partnership allows them to build the Malaysian Vehicle Blockchain on R3’s Corda blockchain platform.
R3’s Corda Enterprise Solutions is not unfamiliar to those in-the-know about blockchain. Most recently, it was announced that Corda will be used by the Swiss Stock Exchange to tokenise equity, while MonetaGo, a software company that builts private blockchains for central banks and financial institutions just announced a switch to R3’s Corda platform from the Hyperledger Fabric.
Cendol partners with the world’s top enterprise blockchain company: R3
Cendol Technologies has partnered with R3 to deliver the Malaysian Vehicle Blockchain using their Corda blockchain platform.
Examples of data that will be stored on the Malaysian Vehicle Blockchain include:

Vehicle details (Brand, Model, Year Manufactured)
Servicing history
Accident history
Ownership

Mark Leung, CTO of Cendol Technologies stated:

“Our adoption of R3’s Corda is a crucial as it provides the foundations for our success like compliance, security, scalability and technological roadmap that we found lacking when comparing [ourselves] with other potential options in the market.”

With a workable version of their blockchain up and running, the Cendol team is working on onboarding auto manufacturer pilot partners, and keeping an eye out for seed investment opportunities.
With serious effort into porting all this information onto a singular blockchain, the team wants to see faster onboarding, paperless sales processes, and more accurate and complete information; all benefits that can be passed along to the average customer.

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E-Wallets
Payments

UOB Sees Double Digit Growth in Digital Payments in Malaysia

									by Vincent Fong
March 13, 2019
0 comments

UOB Malaysia today reported that its customers’ use of digital payment methods in 2018 has grown by almost 50 per cent over the year before.
This increase reflects changes in the way customers’ choose to make payments, a report compiled by Fintech News Malaysia also indicated an overall increase in the adoption of digital payment in Malaysia.
Digital payments via UOB Malaysia’s internet banking service have grown by 25 per cent between January 2017 and December 2018. Customers also made three times more digital payments through the Bank’s mobile banking service, UOB Mighty, in December 2018 compared with 12 months earlier.

According to UOB Malaysia’s data, peer-to-peer payments or digital fund transfers were the most popular digital payment transactions in 2018. Two in three internet and mobile banking transactions by UOB customers were peer-to-peer payments in 2018.
Over the same period, customers also used digital payment methods to pay their bills and make credit card payments. These accounted for 32 per cent of all digital transactions carried out by customers last year.
The rise of digital fund transfers coincides with a decline in the use of cheques in peer-to-peer payment. Cheque payments have declined by almost 30 per cent in the last two years.
On the back of this data, it is our hope that UOB will double down on digital initiatives in Malaysia and perhaps consider a similar model of their digital-only bank “TMRW” which they launched in Thailand just a month ago.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

Malaysian Blockchain Company Named One of APAC’s Top 10 In its Field

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 13, 2019
4 comments

Celebrus Advisory, a consulting firm for blockchain technology has been named one of the Top 10 Best Blockchain Technology Consulting/Service Companies in Asia Pacific for 2019.
This recognition is bestowed by APAC CIO Outlook, a Silicon Valley-based trade journal for CIOs, CTOs and other senior level IT buyers across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. It identifies and profiles emerging companies providing cutting-edge solutions to enterprises in APAC, by conducting in-depth background research on hundreds of vendors for every technology and industry vertical.
Celebrus, a company registered and based in Malaysia, joins an elite group of past winners  such as Huobi based in Singapore and Vechain based in China. It is the only Malaysian on the list this year that also features leading names like Quoine (Japan) and TRON (China/USA).

In accepting the award, Celebrus co-founder Edmund Yong said:

“This is a huge validation for a startup like ours playing on the global field. We serve a need for proper risk management and due diligence in this new and growing industry.”
“We do not have to be a blockchain backyard to other countries, but should strive to put Malaysian talents on the map and export our services to the rest of the world.”

According to APAC CIO Outlook, some winning considerations for Celebrus include its expertise on the regulatory and technical aspects of blockchain and its application in the crypto-driven economy, and its ability to leverage on the cottage-industry business model (a small-scale, decentralized manufacturing business often operated out of a home rather than a purpose-built facility).
Celebrus is a member of ACCESS Blockchain Association (Malaysia), an advocacy group that promotes and advances the adoption of blockchain technology in Malaysia and the ASEAN region.
Featured image via Celebrus

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Crowdfunding

How is Malaysia’s Equity Crowdfunding Scene Doing in 2019?

									by Vincent Fong
March 15, 2019
5 comments

Equity crowdfunding in Malaysia was brought to the mainstream when Securities Commission Malaysia became one of the first within the region to introduce guidelines to regulate the space.
It is part and parcel of the regulator’s strategy to provide a more diverse investment portfolio to the Malaysian public and provide more access for startups and SMEs to raise capital.
Currently there 7 players operating in the equity crowdfunding space in Malaysia with Fundnel being the latest to be granted a license by Securities Commission Malaysia

Since its introduction, 50 SMEs have raised RM 48.87 million through equity crowdfunding. More than half of the investors on the platform are retail investors, signalling a positive participation from the general public.
Unsurprisingly the largest age group that are investing in equity crowdfunding are around the age 35-45 year old. A sweet demographic sweet spot of disposable income and a level of comfort with technology.

Total capital raised has seen quite a decline dropping from RM 24 Million to RM 15 Million
The number of successful deals done by the entire ECF industry dipped from 22 campaigns in 2017 to 14 campaigns in 2018 with pitchIN owning 75% of the market share in 2018.

The most successful campaign seen so far are Commerce.Asia, Fundaztic, and QEOS LED — all of which clocked in at RM 3 Million. Fundaztic’s campaign in particular only took 38 minutes before it was oversubscribed.
All of these issuers raised on pitchIN’s platform.

Overall funds raised since the inception of equity crowdfunding as alternative financing method is largely dominated by pitchIN, with more than half of all funds raised being raised in pitchIN.
Ataplus has seen significant improvement from 2017 to 2018 moving up to second place and tying with Crowdplus.asia.
Meanwhile, players like Eureeca have not seen any activity. Fundnel being the newest entrant have not had any campaigns at the time that the data was compiled.

Source: Securities Commission Malaysia & Stats from ECF providers
Image Credit: Freepik and Flaticon

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Lending

Singaporean Fintech Launches Operations in Malaysia Following Investment from OSK

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 20, 2019
1 comment

TurnKey Lender, a lending and loan origination company announces the opening of a new office Kuala Lumpur. Its main goal will be to physically represent TurnKey Lender and support the company’s operations in Asia.
Fueled by funding from Malaysia-based OSK Ventures, the company plans on involving Malaysian professionals to provide technical support to the clients, streamline local and global business development, and fuel its R&D efforts.
According to a press release, TurnKey plans to take advantage of Malaysia’s ecosystem that is “perfectly positioned” for a rapid growth of alternative lending in areas like peer-to-peer lending and in-house financing. They credit the establishment of the fintech regulatory sandbox in 2016 for cultivating financial technology here, and Malaysia’s internet penetration at 85.7% in 2018.

Featured image via TurnKey Lender

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Cryptocurrency: To Invest or To Trade?

Blockchain/Bitcoin
Trading

Cryptocurrency: To Invest or To Trade?

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 21, 2019
0 comments

The XXI century can be called the Cryptocurrency Rush. In 2017, digital money became incredibly popular due to fast growth and increasing interest among investors.
Even after the fiasco of January 2018, interest to cryptocurrency remains: the number of coins available for trading stands at thousands and the daily turnover of the cryptocurrency market counts to billions of dollars.
Cryptocurrencies are the financial trend of the last few years. Stories about lucky investors who succeeded to make fortunes on digital coins, as well as high volatility led to a growing demand for digital currencies and numerous speculations on cryptocurrency exchanges.

How to trade cryptocurrency
Trading crypto is more dynamic and unpredictable than trading currency or stock. While other assets rarely reach 2% of daily price change, cryptocurrency is often above 10%. This makes crypto a prime opportunity for high-risk investments and trading.
There are two ways to make money off cryptocurrency– investing and trading.
Investing in cryptocurrency
Investing is buying and holding crypto in order to sell it off later. Of course, it only works if the price of your coins is rising – and that’s not a guarantee. For example, the last couple of months have been remarkably bearish on the cryptocurrency market.

FUN FACT: The other name for cryptocurrency investors is “hodlers”. The name emerged around 2011 from the miswritten word “holder” and became a meme among the early crypto adopters.

Cryptocurrency market is extremely volatile and the investors are forced to follow it. While on the upward trending market investing is a lot safer than trading, it becomes unreasonable when the market enters a bearish mood. However, that’s where the traders come in.
Trading cryptocurrency
While investors are after the long-term profit and sometimes can even accept a short-term loss, traders are all about immediate gratification. They don’t care about the state of the cryptocurrency market and where it is moving – the only thing they need to make money is movement itself.
When the market is on the rise, the traders are essentially the mini-investors – they buy crypto in the morning and sell it at the end of the day, or when the price begins to dangerously tip. However, when the market is falling, the traders employ shorting – a different trading mechanism specifically designed for the downward markets.

GLOSSARY: Shorting is borrowing some crypto, selling it, then buying it back at the end of the day to repay the debt. If the price falls after the initial sale, the trader ends up with some profit on the repurchase.

However, you need an external source of crypto in order to short it. Most traders use cryptocurrency brokers, who provide them with a constant supply of coins. They also give access to a larger amount of coins and tokens. For example, JustForex offers 39 trading instruments on the Crypto account, including BTC, ETH, Ripple, BCH, EMC, LTC.
How to be a successful cryptocurrency trader
The trader should have the skills of technical analysis, a good understanding of the trading principles. The forecasts made after careful analysis are the basis for opening positions to buy or sell.
Traders often trade on the news. When there is good news on an asset, buy it and wait for the price to rise. When bad news release, start shorting. For example, there was news that a large investment fund plans to invest in Bitcoin, BTC/USD rate is likely to grow and you should open long positions.
The choice of a trading strategy depends on your goals. Investing is well suited for leisurely assets formation. At the same time, trading allows you to receive a stable income.

Featured image credit: Edited via Unsplash from here and here

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Lending

UOB Launches an App That Matches Property Buyers with Mortgage Bankers

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 21, 2019
0 comments

UOB Bank just launched an app that matches prospective property buyers with the bank’s team or mortgage specialists.
Named UOB GetBanker, the app allows a property buyer or agent can search for a mortgage banker based on whether they are looking to purchase a residential or commercial property, the location and the price of the property. The buyer or agent, will then be matched with a mortgage banker on the same day. Once matched they can then rate the banker’s service thereafter and add this banker as a favourite banker for future reference.
Through the UOB GetBanker app, property agents and buyers will have access to more than 290 residential and commercial mortgage specialists across UOB Malaysia’s network nationwide.

The UOB GetBanker app also provide the latest interest rate information for both residential and commercial loans. It also features a loan calculator to help buyers estimate the monthly loan repayments they will have to pay.
Mr. Ronnie Lim, Managing Director and Country Head of Personal Financial Services, UOB Malaysia, said:

“Property agents typically rely on their own contact list of bankers to help property buyers find a mortgage banker.”
“However, these bankers may not always be readily available or familiar with the type of property the buyer wants to purchase. The UOB GetBanker app addresses these issues by referring the prospective buyer to a UOB banker within minutes of generating a search.”
Ronnie elaborates that the GetBanker app’s launch is timely as they expect to see more first-time homebuyers entering the housing market in the next few years, partly due to the introduction of government incentives for first-time homeowners.
“A good supply of homes modestly priced between RM400,000 to RM600,000 will encourage more Malaysians to enter the property market,” he said.
Beyond the average consumer, the UOB GetBanker app will also grant SMEs access to mortgage bankers who would be able to extend financing to SMEs, as well as allow for higher responsiveness.

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E-Wallets
Payments

3 New Things WeChat Pay is Trying to Stay Ahead of Other E-Wallets in Malaysia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 26, 2019
3 comments

Joining Malaysia’s increasingly crowded e-wallet scene was WeChat Pay, launched here in August last year. The arrival was notable as Malaysia was the first region targeted by the platform that helped to contribute to the ubiquity of e-wallets in China.
Since then, it has been a quiet game of promotion and improving consumer stickiness in Malaysia, same as all other e-wallets. One notable push by WeChat Pay was its Angpao function at launch, which Alipay’s Jack Ma has once called it a “Pearl Harbour Attack” on Alibaba’s Alipay.
In a bid to stand out from the crowd here in Malaysia, WeChat Pay has unveiled a few new services tied to its e-wallet:

1. Digital Vending Machine
Image Credit: WeChat Pay
At an event today, WeChat Pay unveiled a fully digital vending machine where payments are made via WeChat Pay instead of cash.
2. Order and Pay at Mamaks
The menu will appear in-app during order.
Mamaks in Malaysia have always been an area rife for cash disruption, and WeChat Pay is picking up that low hanging fruit. Soon to be available in mamaks and restaurants across Klang Valley is an online ordering service via WeChat Pay.
Restaurants available range from Starbucks to teh tarik.
The goal is to allow WeChat Pay users to circumvent having to wait for a waiter, or long lines for food. Instead, orders and payments can be made via the WeChat Pay app.
According to a press release, plans are already underway to get local ‘pasar malam‘ or roadside stall vendors to adopt the payment solution.
3.  Buying Petrol using AI

The function that WeChat Pay is seemingly most proud of is its petrol mini-kiosk. Users can select a petrol station, amount of fuel they’d like to purchase and when they arrive at the kiosk, a camera will detect the car plate number to activate the pump. Petrol purchases can all be done in-app.
Basically, a user could drive in and immediately start pumping gas.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

How 2 M’sians Built The 2nd Largest Crypto Aggregator Because They Were Annoyed

									by Fintech News Malaysia
March 28, 2019
9 comments

Malaysia-based and run CoinGecko could have seen the writing in the stone for CoinMarketCap’s recent scandals, since it came out that as much as 95% of spot Bitcoin trading volume has been “faked”. Even during its founding in 2014, the two CoinGecko founders have run their website with transparency at its front and center.
Today, CoinGecko claims to be the second biggest crypto data aggregator, tracking nearly 3,300 tokens from more than 260 cryptocurrency exchanges. The free website brings in between 9 million to 10 million monthly pageviews. Their secret? In addition to tracking price, volume and market capitalisation, CoinGecko tracks community growth, open-source code development, major events and on-chain metrics.
Market Capitalisation Isn’t All That in Crypto-Trading
Launched soon after CoinMarketCap did in 2014, CoinGecko holds transparency as its philosophy rather than a response to market demands. In fact, the founders stated that it’s their own frustration with aggregators that got the ball rolling, back in 2014 when they were mere Bitcoin traders themselves.

During a sit-down we had with the two founders, TM Lee said:

“[When] we were trying to understand the space, we tried to reverse-engineer the numbers that these aggregators were showing, and we just couldn’t figure it out, no matter the permutations we tried. To us, if we can’t figure it out for ourselves, then there’s no way that any other guy on the street can.”

The other co-founder Bobby Ong said:

“At the time the only way of people evaluated these cryptocurrencies are based on price and volume. Nothing else. No fundamentals or anything. So what we wanted to do was to bring in various different data points in different places.”

Even back in the yester-years of 2014, their attempts to research coins at forums showcased seasoned traders advising for or against a coin based on its developers, community, and other similar metrics. The pair realised that similar information could be pulled via API from Github, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc, so the question became: why hadn’t anyone done that yet?
“It’s clearly a metric that the community looks at but nobody was trying to quantify it so we thought: let’s put them together and see what comes of it,” said TM.
Market capitalisation is calculated multiplying the price by the circulating supply. However, TM opined that the supply itself is a very subjective among different parties. So CoinGecko offers a way to understand where the numbers come from, rather than acting like values presented were absolute.
At a coin’s page, hover over the question mark to find out supply information.
In fact, all it takes is a click of a button on their website for users to be shown a breakdown: total supply, coins helped by a foundation, used for research and development—all deducted to get the circulating supply on CoinGecko.
Chasing Their White Whale
While CoinGecko prides itself on being second best, the fact remains—they’re not quite at the top. This isn’t a small gap either as despite their claim to second-best, CoinGecko is now the 6,569th most popular website globally, a far cry to CoinMarketCap’s place as 490th most popular website. So what made the difference if both started around the same time?
When asked, the pair chalk it up to a few simple factors.
“They built something that’s easy to understand,” said TM.
“Most people will look at price first before they look into the fundamental value of any coin. And the few months that they had gave them a head start in the industry,” said Bobby.
“They say that one day in crypto is one year in the real world. So that few months was a big head start that they had. It’s also a self-reinforcing thing, once you have a head start, people refer to you and it builds a virtual cycle.”
In a similar vein, the pair consider themselves lucky for having started five years ago when it wasn’t so competitive, and built a name for themselves that lasted through the crypto-boom in 2017 and now while the market is in its bearish state.
TM Lee throughout the years giving talks about cryptocurrency. (Image Credit: CoinGecko)
CoinGecko also credit their position today thanks to an early decision open their platform up with a global angle instead of winnowing down to just Malaysia. That was a good call since Malaysia’s scene was probably not enough to help them monetise.
Of course, not paying themselves a salary to allow for ramen profitability in the early days certainly helped too, though the two are now earning a keep for their venture today.
To play catch-up with the top gun and to stay ahead of increasing competition though, CoinGecko practices an agile methodology. In fact, until very recently, the CoinGecko team was just Bobby and TM—which made experimentation a pretty snap decision.
“Even now we still use agile methodology when doing software, instead of a waterfall model,” said Bobby.
Ecosystem Shifts Led to a Complete Website Reframe

The methodology reflects in their website model as well.
It was admittedly arbitrary, but CoinGecko’s rise to fame was thanks to an easy to view dashboard that did an pretty equal split across market capitalisation and fundamental data to create an all-in-one display of coin rankings. Over time, trying to perfect the value granted to specific data points proved difficult with the ever-evolving crypto-scene.
So CoinGecko came up with an elegant solution: they stopped bothering.
“These days, we try to move away from that model because we realised there’s no perfect model. Instead, now we display raw data and let the users use that for themselves,” said TM.
“The model that we created was suitable five years ago. Today we have different coins and different tokens being issued in different manners. Back then, a lot of the coins were mineable coins, so you can kind of compare them, but today there are coins that are created from ICOs, you can’t compare those to Bitcoin.”
The change seemed to be a preferable one among its users according to the pair, but they’ve got other ways to stand out in mind.
CoinGecko Launched an Open API for Indie Developers
Image Credit: CoinGecko
The company introduced an open API in mid-2018 for developers to use, based on a model they had been restricting to research institutions until that point. The company offers this API for free, despite seeing competitors charging for the same offering.
According to Bobby, “if everyone charges for it then this ecosystem will not grow. If the barrier of entry is paying, then you won’t see all these small apps coming out, or even other services that want to tap into this data to build something for their customers.”
“We believe in an open decentralised future where data is freely accessible so we want to keep it free for indie developers and other developers to build on top. You never know what can come out of it when you keep access to data open.”
In return, CoinGecko gets some branding. Some known users of the open API include the Trezor Hardware Wallet, Etherscan, and other block explorers.
Beyond that, to remain competitive in the market, Bobby seems to think it’s about survival of the fittest, so the pair have measures in place to weather the storms. Being seasoned veterans in the scene, CoinGecko is fully aware of the cyclical nature of cryptocurrencies, and thus have had their business affairs in order to weather through this bearish stage in the nascent scene’s growth.
“There are a lot of competitors coming out to do what we are doing now, but it’s tough when you don’t have the 4-year head start that we had,” said Bobby.
“When the market is down, then everything is effected. If your cashflow isn’t managed properly, then things can be effected. I’m expecting companies to consolidate soon.”
And they’re pretty confident they won’t be one of them.

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Digital Transformation
Virtual Banking

Bank Negara Malaysia to Pave the Way for Virtual Banking

									by Vincent Fong
March 27, 2019
12 comments

Bank Negara Malaysia will soon release its requirements for a virtual banking license by end of this year, according a NST report.
Virtual banking license seems to be all the rage these days with Hong Kong announcing their 3 approved licensees the same day Malaysia announces its ambitions to regulate this space.
The introduction of such a licensing regime will likely bring about a wave of neo-banks from both incumbents and disruptors alike. The concept of neo-banks was first popularised by fintech firms like Moven, Monzo, and Starling. To put it simply neo-banks are like mobile banking on steroids — designed to be mobile first and typically without any branch

While Malaysia is only now entering this space, many of our neighbouring countries already have ventured into digital only banks.
Source: Fintech News Singapore
Yet, Malaysia is not completely unfamiliar with this concept.  As Fintech News previously reported, CIMB recently launched their version of a neo-bank inspired strategy in Philippines and Vietnam.
Will Malaysians embrace the idea of a neo-bank that’s not run by the traditional folks in suit and tie? The operators will have an uphill climb ahead of them, but perhaps the rise of digital wallet players have laid the foundation for Malaysia to trust fintech firms with their money—the Fintech Association’s President, Ridzuan seems to agree with my line logic as well.
While I am as excited as the next guy about the possibility of neo-banks existing in Malaysia, I am cautiously optimistic as E-KYC guidelines are not applicable across the financial services sector and instead reserved only to the money services businesses.
After all what’s the point of a fully digital bank if I have to show up in person to sign up?

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Digital Transformation

Just What Are We Going to Do With Bank Branches?

									by Vincent Fong
April 8, 2019
0 comments

Branch banking is dead.
A statement that we’ve heard probably a million times or more. The very same statement that normally comes accompanied with the cause of death and murder weapon being shifting demographics and digital technologies.

A quick glance at the news cycle seems to quickly confirm that fact, with stories being littered with terms like “branch rationalisation” and “branch optimisation“.
However we at Fintech News Malaysia being the stubborn bunch that we are, we refuse to just accept that notion wholesale and decide to dig a little deeper into the matter.
By “dig a little deeper” I meant painstakingly sifting through a decade worth of annual reports of the top 4 banks with the most branches in Malaysia. In doing so, we are able to visualise the data and more accurately pinpoint the state of branch banking in Malaysia.
You’ll notice CIMB visibly missing in the chart as despite our best effort, there were some years in the annual reports that branch data was not shared.
There are more bank branches today than there are 10 years ago.
Interestingly, between 2008 to 2015 you’ll notice that most banks are increasing their investment into branch banking despite the fact that online banking was introduced in 2000 and mobile banking introduced in 2009.
For Hong Leong bank the ramp up was so significant that between 2011  – 2012 the bank nearly doubled their branch network. (Editors Note: The acquisition of EON Bank contributed significantly to the increase of the branch network)
Unsurprising to those who are familiar with Public Bank’s modus operandi, Public Bank is the only one that has not reduced the number of bank branches. In fact, they’ve been gradually but consistently increasing the number branches over the past decade.

(Click for higher resolution)
Despite the fact that there are more branches 10 years ago than there are today, one should not be under the illusion that branches will still be the mainstay of banking. Data between 2015 -2017 spells out a larger trend of banks fizzling down on branches — a trend that will likely continue in the next few years.
Where does that leave branch banking?
This is a question that becomes increasingly relevant with Bank Negara Malaysia recently announcing that they will be following in the footsteps of Hong Kong and coming up with a framework for virtual banking.
It is easy to make a clumsy logical conclusion that branches will lose its relevance altogether and banks in the future should exists solely within the virtual space.
However, we need to remember that even some of the world’s most digital companies like Amazon see the value in retail spaces, a point that was well made with their acquisition of Whole Foods for $US 13.7 billion.

Coupled with the fact that the earlier fervor from banks to invest heavily in expanding the branch network means that despite their best efforts to reduce bank branches there will still be a sizeable number at least in the near future.
The question that remains is, just what should we do with these bank branches?
The Need for Radical Ideas?
There’s no shortage of novel ideas on how to reinvent branch banking from DBS Bank’s cafe branch to Indonesian Bank Jenius’ pop up branch or this fully digital bank branch by Unionbank.
There’s a thematic focus to these branch redesigns which focuses either on the experience or branch efficiency (whether driven by tech or retail space).
Perhaps the most radical idea that I’ve come across is from Jim Marous, who suggested that banks should consider turning their branches into co-working spaces as a means for provide value to its SME clients. He opines that with so much underused space in banks, this may be one of the lowest cost and highest potential of return possible.
Getting a sense on the development back home we speak to Carol Wang, General Manager for BFSI in TM ONE. She shares that while going digital is the future for banking there is still a segment of consumers that are still left behind by the digital divide and that it is important for banks to provide the best level of service they can when a customer does walk into the branch.
She further adds that branch transformation is not simple matter of deploying the latest analytics or adding fancy digital walls, at the core of it banks need to consider how these technologies contribute the following 3 objective;  delighting customers, reducing costs, and increasing revenue.
Carol concludes that in essence the experience of walking into a bank branch should feel more like walking into an Apple flagship store than walking into a stuffy bank branch.

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Payments

MoneyMatch Becomes One Step Closer to Being the First to Graduate BNM’s Sandbox

									by Fintech News Malaysia
April 3, 2019
1 comment

MoneyMatch announced today they have been granted an approval in principle for a Class B remittance license from Bank Negara Malaysia.
This makes MoneyMatch the first to receive an approval in principle among its sandbox peers, two of which has been listed as “ceased operation” in Bank Negara Malaysia’s website.
This class B remittance license allows MoneyMatch to conduct digital remittance services for business and individuals. The fintech startup was also among the first to be granted approval to conduct eKYC to onboard new customers.

MoneyMatch also announced that they have secured an investment round of over RM 2 Million from Cradle Seed Ventures, which brings their total funding up to RM 7 Million.
Image Credit: WatchTower and Friends
Adrian Yap, the CEO of MoneyMatch affirms the FinTech company’s commitment towards bringing much needed digital innovation and better price transparency to the traditional remittance industry in Malaysia, and other APAC markets.
Adrian mentioned that the growth opportunity domestically in Malaysia remains strong and that MoneyMatch will continue disrupting traditional banks commenting that “winter has arrived for banks”

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E-Wallets
Payments

Touch ‘N Go Partners Up With Singapore’s EZ-Link to Issue a Multi-Currency Joint Card

									by Fintech News Malaysia
April 10, 2019
0 comments

Due to a variety of reasons, Singapore’s EZ-Link and Malaysia’s Touch ‘n Go cards are synonymous with travel in their respective countries. With travel across the causeway so common among residents of both, it is about time for a new partnership between the two, slated for launch in Q4 2019.
EZ-Link and Touch ‘n Go will soon issue a dual currency Combi Card–which will host both e-wallets from EZ-Link and Touch ‘n Go.
For now, the Combi Card is planned for use to pay for electronic road pricing in Singapore, tolls in Malaysia, and parking, though the companies hint at potential further use; like shopping and dining, it seems.

The Combi Card (Image Credit: EZ-Link)
The announcement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between EZ-Link and Touch ‘n Go on 30 July 2017.
The EZ-Link partnership seems to be part of Touch ‘n Go’s efforts to drive interest into its TNG Wallet, the company’s contender in the ongoing e-wallet wars in Malaysia that has begun to see some rising heroes. The TNG Wallet began to make a strong case for itself with the launch of its RFID function, a low hanging fruit for the transportation smart card.
As of 2018, 400,000 Malaysians shuttle between Johor and Singapore for work every day, and perhaps be one of the main markets for the eventual combi-card, along with the Singaporean tourists travelling to Johor for its relatively cheaper goods and services.
To date, EZ-Link claims to have issued about 30 million CEPAS ez-link cards in Singapore, and Touch ‘n Go claims to have more than 23 million active Touch ‘n Go cards in circulation in Malaysia.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons

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Digital Transformation

5 Things MDEC is Doing to Bring Fintech in Malaysia to the Next Level

									by Vincent Fong
April 17, 2019
0 comments

The Malaysian fintech scene has grown considerably since its early days. Our 2018 Fintech Report shows that the number of fintech companies operating in Malaysia has more than doubled compared to its previous year.
This should come as no surprise to most, Malaysia’s increasingly digitised economy will naturally necessitate a more mature fintech ecosystem to fuel its growth.
The custodian of Malaysia’s digital growth, MDEC, seems to concur with that line of logic as they continue to increase their efforts to prop up Malaysia’s fintech scene.

In order to find out more about what is MDEC’s game plan for Malaysia’s fintech industry, we reached out to Norhizam Kadir, Vice President for Growth Ecosystem Development, a department which houses a dedicated fintech unit.
Hizam as he is fondly known by many in the industry, breaks down for us the 5 initiatives that MDEC is currently working on.
1. Setting Up a Fintech Hub, Orbit
Situated in the heart of Bangsar South, Orbit is a co-working space that was set up with the intention of being a lightning rod for innovative fintech ideas.
Spanning over 20,000 square feet, its tenants includes the likes of VISA, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Supercharger, Dokkupay, Merchantrade and Chaintope.

Hizam explains that the purpose of Orbit is not to set up yet another co-working space nor is it MDEC’s charter to do so.
Instead, one of the key purposes of the Orbit fintech hub is to help fintech startups to gain access regulators. This is done through the quarterly Regulatory Bootcamp, which normally sees participation from both Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia.
He further adds that, at the core of it, Orbit is designed to be a physical space to bring together various components of the industry.
2. Working Together with the Regulators to Organise MyFintech Week
Having a fintech week seems to be a rite of passage for every country who is seeking to establish itself as a fintech hub.
With many of our neigbours like Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and even Taiwan having done their own iteration of a fintech week; many industry players have been calling for Malaysia to organise our own version of it.

Bank Negara Malaysia will be hosting MyFintech Week ’19 in conjunction with Malaysia Tech Week which is organised by MDEC.
If executed well, an event like this can shine a much needed spotlight into our local fintech ecosystem.
3. Capitalising On Malaysia’s Strength as Test Bed
Hizam believes that Malaysia is a perfect test bed for startups to validate their fintech ideas before expanding to other ASEAN countries.
Which is why MDEC has been working on various programmes to woo fintech founders to set up shop in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Tech Entrepreneur Programme (MTEP) is one of the initiatives that Hizam pointed out as an example. The programme offers 1-5 years employment passes to selected entrepreneurs who qualify. To date, over 100 founders have been approved for the programme.
MyMy, a company we highlighted as one of the top fintech underdogs to keep an eye out on, is among those who benefited from the program.

Echoing Hizam’s views on Malaysia’s strength is one of the tenants in Orbit, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
Jaspreet, who is a specialist in Digital Finance and Innovation in UNCDF shared that Malaysia’s suitability as test bed is precisely why it is one of the 2 countries that it has selected to set up its innovation hub.
He further added that Malaysia’s diverse urban-rural demography, readily available infrastructure combined with an forward-thinking regulator is why Malaysia is an ideal test bed for them.
4. Positioning Malaysia as an Islamic Fintech Hub

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Malaysia’s global leadership position in Islamic Finance is no secret, in 2017 we’ve produced 26% of the world’s shariah compliant financial assets.
Yet there’s still work to be done before Malaysia can claim that it is the global leader in Islamic fintech, something that we’ve written extensively about in the past.
To that end, Hizam shared that MDEC has recently set up a dedicated Islamic Digital Economy unit who will work closely with the fintech team in order to cement Malaysia’s position in the global arena.
Through this initiative they have made available a board of shariah advisors to help fintech startups make their financial products shariah compliant. Doing so could potentially help them tap into global Islamic economy that is expected to grow to the tune of US$ 3 trillion by 2021.
5. Developing a Talent Pipeline
Talent is the lifeblood of all industries and fintech is no exception. Without the right talent to execute innovative ideas — it’ll remain as just that, ideas.
Hizam shares that when it comes to developing a talent pipeline, the formative years of a child is when it is crucial, which is why MDEC has been involved with programmes like #mydigitalmaker to stimulate and build the mindset of creating instead of consuming from a young age.

On a university level, MDEC has also been working with Supercharger and APU to launch Malaysia’s first fintech academy.
He added that APU is among the 8 universities and 5 polytechnics who are part of the Premier Tech Digital Universities that MDEC has been working with to churn out the right type of talent for the new digital economy.

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Payments
WealthTech

HelloGold Teams up with Curlec to Automate Monthly Gold Investments

									by Fintech News Malaysia
April 24, 2019
2 comments

HelloGold and Curlec announced today that they will be joining forces to automate monthly investments for HelloGold’s customers. Curlec’s Direct Debit solution will be deployed for HelloGold’s SmartSave program; a program that enables its users to buy gold at the lowest daily price based on their financial goals.
“The partnership with HelloGold is an affirmation of our ongoing commitment to revolutionise the way businesses and consumers approach financial services. The importance of having sufficient savings within a tough economic environment is a key driver as to why HelloGold with Curlec’s Direct Debit payment solution will help Malaysians to easily save gold via a secure and disciplined manner,” said Zac
Liew, Co-founder and CEO of Curlec.

Acting as an intermediary between a business and their bank, the software built by the Curlec team is aimed at replacing the old paper based Direct Debit method with an easy-to-use cloud based solution. The startup recently raised their seed round with Captii Ventures.
Speaking about the collaboration, Co-Founder Ridwan Abdullah of HelloGold said,

“In our continuous effort to promote a stronger savings culture with all Malaysians, we are delighted to partner up with Curlec on this initiative.”
“With this new digital infrastructure, HelloGold will not only improve our savings product to customers, the partnership will also streamline payment processes with the direct connection into Curlec, allowing customers to easily set up and manage their direct debit payment amounts on the system.”

Both startups were part of the Supercharger Fintech Accelerator’s 2018 cohort.

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Lending

Why are Malaysian Proptech Companies Looking into Fintech?

									by Satoko Omata
April 26, 2019
1 comment

There’s seems to be a trend emerging in Malaysia, in 2019 we’re seeing a surge of proptech firms embracing fintech.
Earlier this month, iProperty released a home loan eligibility indicator called LoanCare, an online tool that compares and calculates home loan eligibility instantly with up to 10 banks.Which in turn will give people a better chance in securing a home loan.
We were informed by industry sources some aspects of the technology were support by Finology, the guys behind the comparison site, Loanstreet.

Similarly, around the same time, PropertyGuru also released an online tool known as the PropertyGuru Home Loan Pre-Approval. Taking it a step further from iProperty, the online tool not only allows for home loan comparison, it also allows users to instantly apply for the loan they want. Its pre-approval solution is powered by MyProperty Data, a subsidiary of the public listed firm Technodex.

In both launches, executives from the respective companies have highlighted that the recently released online tools are in line with the current government’s initiatives to assist home ownership and focus on affordability.
David Mawer, iProperty.com.my General Manager said, “Insights such as a maximum eligibility comparison with banks and individual DSRs should not be difficult to find. Everyone deserves easy access to any and all information that will help them get the right home loan, without risking rejection.”
Bjorn Sprengers, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Fintech, PropertyGuru Group echoes Mawer’s sentiment, “It’s not the fintech alone that does the trick. For the first time, key real estate industry players have come together to rethink the mortgage process across party lines. I firmly believe that such partnerships infused with innovation are the right path forward to truly solve one of the biggest roadblocks Malaysians face during their home-buying journey.”
Aside from established proptech going down this path, we are also seeing fintech founders making the switch to running their own proptech firm. Fintech News Malaysia reported that Soft Space’s co-founder Chang Chew Soon raised US$ 5 Million in seed funding to launch his proptech startup, which to no one’s surprise carries some fintech elements in it.
A market in decline
When it comes to the property market in Malaysia, we’ve been hearing the same narrative for the past decade or so: it’s been at the very least stagnant – if not in decline. Numbers released by the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) seems to back that claim, with figures showing little changes, or in some cases reflecting a slowly dying market. In fact, the report showed 43,219 residential units worth RM29 billion unsold nationwide as of 3Q2018.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
However, demand is hardly the issue. PropertyGuru ran a survey that alludes to a strong interest in property ownership, with 92% Malaysians stating they want to own a property.
The challenge often lies in the consumer’s ability to secure loans. Statistics by Bank Negara Malaysia shows that the home loan rejection rate is generally increasing year-on-year, while percentage for first time borrowers have been steadily decreasing since 2013.
From the controversial FundMy Home by the Edge, to the recent initiatives by the likes Property Guru and iProperty all signs points towards players employing fintech as tool as attempt to solve these perennial issues.
Building the ecosystem with fintech
Just a couple home loan approval calculation tools isn’t going to cut it. Unlike cash and carry businesses, the process of buying a property isn’t that straight forward. It relies on a network of businesses to come together working as a unit, and all these pieces must work together seamlessly.
Currently, the process of buying and selling property is separate from obtaining loans, which in turn is separate from applying for the necessary legal procedures, not to mention buying the necessary property related insurance.

All these processes are not only data intensive, it heavily rely on various forms of transactions. Fintech is able to bridge the gap between these processes by extracting the necessary data, plugging it into the processes, then using existing technologies to create platforms that serve as a seamless connection across all the processes.
Of course there is no one-size-fit-all solution, and the process of leveraging fintech for a unified platform will be a never ending process. However, it is undeniable that fintech is crucial not only for better support for potential buyers, but also to revive the struggling property market.
In the case of PropertyGuru, Home Loan Pre-Approval was built following the Mortgage Pre- Qualifier tool that was launched in August 2018. The company has since stated that they are working towards building an end-to-end ecosystem of complementary features that support home buyers throughout their home buying process.
With the help of fintech, the Malaysian property industry can improve efficiency in the home buying-selling process. At the same time, perhaps it has a shot at increasing home ownership, and solving the issues of unsold properties.

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E-Wallets
Payments

GHL to Enable GrabPay QR Payment at 70,000 of its Payments Channels

									by Fintech News Malaysia
May 2, 2019
0 comments

GrabPay’s mobile QR payment will be accepted at GHL’s payment touchpoints soon according to an announcement issued by GHL today.
Prior to this partnership GHL has also enabled CIMB Bank to accept QR payments from 6 major e-wallets. Through this tie-up, Grab will have access to GHL’s 70,000 merchant payment touch-points throughout Malaysia.
Commenting on the partnership with Grab, GHL’s Group CEO, Danny Leong said,

“We see strong synergies between GHL and GrabPay given our ASEAN base and focus. Our strategy is to enable our merchant base with a wide range of payment solutions which currently stands at more than 15 types of payment schemes. Given both companies’ regional ambitions, we see this tie up as a good step in the right direction.”

Ooi Huey Tyng, Managing Director, GrabPay Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines adds,
“ We are honoured to partner with companies like GHL who share in our vision, so together with them, we are able to build a network of financial solutions tailored to each market for their specific convenience which everyone in our Grab ecosystem can benefit from – be it drivers, merchant partners and users,”

Featured Image Credit: Monash Library Facebook Page

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Insurtech

A Sneak Peek into Prudential’s New AI Powered Health App, Pulse

									by Vincent Fong
May 7, 2019
1 comment

The insurance industry is changing, and its changing fast.
The forces driving the change in insurance include skyrocketing healthcare costs, rising protection gap and a shift in the way consumers prefer to interact with brands.
These new realities are pressuring the insurance industry to embrace insurtech. Prudential is among those in Malaysia’s insurance scene that have adopted this digital doctrine.

Nic Nicandrou, CEO, Prudential Asia, revealed to us that the group as a whole has stepped their tech investment to over £400 Million this year.
On Malaysia’s front we were also informed that they are looking to invest over RM 250 million in these key areas; removing inefficiencies, improving customer services, and increasing accessibility to Prudential’s services.
Part of that renewed focus into digital technologies and insurtech is their soon-to-be-launched digital health tool, Pulse. We were given the opportunity to take sneak peek at the beta version of their app during their media preview session.
Though Pulse made its first appearance at Singapore Fintech Festival 2018, Nic shared with us that Malaysia will be the first market that they will be debuting Pulse.
A Glance at Prudential’s New App
There are 4 key functions to Prudential’s AI powered digital health tool — Health Assessment, Symptom Checker, Online Consultation and Dengue Alert.
All these functionalities were made possible thanks to partnership with startups like Babylon Health, DoctorOnCall and AIME.
One of the the flashier functions within the Pulse app is the “digital twin”. Once you’ve completed a very detailed interaction with its chatbot, the app will generate an interactive diagram of your body along with some helpful graphs.

The colours represent the level of health risk of each of your organ. When you tap on one of the organs it will list down what are the risks you face and recommend options that you can take to improve the situation.
According to its partner Babylon, the symptom check function uses over 50 million data points to provide users a diagnosis. The app will then recommend if a visit to the doctor is needed.
Should that need arise users of the may opt to use their built in tele-health capabilities to get a consultation from certified doctors via video calls.

Once that’s done users can have medicine delivered directly to their doorstep and payments can also be made within the app using credit/debit card and your Boost e-wallet.
A Step in the Right Direction
The myriad of services offered within the app is definitely a step in the right direction for Prudential, this is especially true in Malaysia where 71% of health related searches happens on the mobile and the fact that 23% of apps downloaded are health related apps.
We were also pleased to learn that this app is also made available to non-Prudential customers.
However, there are some areas that the app requires improvement. The necessary interaction to generate the health assessment report is too lengthy, which took roughly 15 minutes to complete.
While it is understandable that such level of detail is necessary to generate an accurate report, perhaps it might work better to gamify that aspect of it and get users to complete that interaction in phases.
Another area that would benefit from some fine tuning is the language that’s used, while it’s clear that effort has been made to use simpler language there are still quite a number of medical jargons that many users might find difficult to understand.
For a beta version of the app it is pretty refined and I’d imagine they will iron out some of these minor kinks prior to an official launch.
The beta version of the app is now available for download in Google Play and Apple Store, it is a free-to-use app with the exception of the online consultation service.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

Bursa Malaysia Taps Hong Kong Based Company to Build Blockchain Proof-of-Concept

									by Fintech News Malaysia
May 7, 2019
1 comment

Bursa Malaysia is right now utilising blockchain in a proof of concept geared towards greater transparency and smoother operations in the securities borrowing and lending (SBL) market.
The project aims to ramp up efficiency, speed and capacity in securities in the lending pool.
This initiative could the gateway for Bursa Malaysia to undertake deeper explorations in blockchain technologies to address other operational challenges prevalent to SBL activities in Malaysia and discover more opportunities to drive end-to-end functionalities such as market interest discovery, trade capture and collateral management.

Bursa’s stance is that blockchain brings about fundamental shifts in how the market works, thinks and hires. Therefore, the process of utilising this technology is seen as a valuable learning experience in the field to build knowledge and potentially help drive Malaysia towards becoming a developed market.
Run in partnership with the Bursa’s technology partner, Hong Kong-incorporated FORMS, the PoC will involve a diverse range of SBL market participants, according to the press release.
Bursa Malaysia’s CEO, just appointed last December, Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said:
Datuk Umar Swift
“Across different markets, empirical studies show that short selling helps provide additional liquidity and improves price efficiency.”

“The growth potential of Malaysia’s SBL market makes it a prime candidate where the power of blockchain technology can create a considerable impact.”

Affin Hwang Investment Bank Berhad, CIMB Investment Bank Berhad, Citibank Berhad, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) and Malacca Securities are collaborating with Bursa Malaysia and FORMS to drive the development of the blockchain-enabled Lending Pool to suit the industry’s specific needs, cost and efficiency pressures.
In related news, Securities Commission Malaysia has also previous released a blueprint for the use of blockchain in OTC markets dubbed Project Castor.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons

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Insurtech

BFM Founder Malek Ali Co-Founds Insurtech Startup, Fi Life

									by Fintech News Malaysia
May 13, 2019
1 comment

Fi Life, an insurtech startup co-founded by BFM radio founder Malek Ali and Tan Jiann Meng went live today.
The birth Fi Life is a result of the pair’s recent acquisition of U For Life from German reinsurer Hannover Re and New Zealand underwriting software company, Intelligent Life.
A rebrand of U For Life, the newly launched insurtech offers insurance services through its mobile and desktop site. It provides life insurance coverage of up RM 1 Million. Users with problematic medical history might still be able to get cover, subject to assessment by Fi Life’s online underwriting questionnaire.*

The current business has more than 3,000 active life insurance policies covering more than half a billion ringgit in cover (sum assured).
Image Credit: Fi Life
The fresh interface, according to a Fi Life, would showcase a more intuitive interface, greater eligibility for higher coverage geared towards certain age and income categories, and 10% discount on premiums for RM1 million life coverage.
The financial backers of Fi Life include, among others, include Tan Thiam Hock, former owner of Alliance Cosmetics, Ng Kay Yip, former co-founder of JobStreet Corporation, and Asgari Stephens, principal of Intelligent Capital.
Editors Note: Sentence has been amended to more accurately reflect service offered.
Featured image is a screenshot of a YouTube video titled Pelajar yang dinilaikan oleh majikan masa depan, Malek Ali, Pengasas BFM Media by Google Malaysia

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Crowdfunding

Securities Commission Malaysia Announces 8 New Licenses for Crowdfunding and P2P Lending

									by Vincent Fong
May 17, 2019
2 comments

Securities Commission Malaysia today announced 3 new licenses for equity crowdfunding and 5 for P2P lending. This new batch sees names that are familiar to those in the startup scene and some new names.
The new equity crowdfunding players are; 1337 Ventures, Ethis Ventures and MyStartr. Whereas on the P2P lending front the new players are; CapitalBay, Capsphere Services, Crowdsense, MicroLEAP and Money Save Capital.
They received their letter of registration from Datuk Syed Albar, Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia and was witnessessed by Finance Minister YB Lim Guan Eng.

“The SC will continue to facilitate development of innovative digital solutions which democratise access to investments while broadening financing options available for all Malaysian.” said Datuk Syed Zaid Albar.

Datuk Syed Albar also expressed that the new licensees is intended to cater to various new sub segments like insurance premium financing, shariah compliant financing and creative arts.
With the addition of the new ECF and P2P financing players, which will operationalise by the end of the year, there are now 21 market based financing platform operators registered in Malaysia.
As at the end of March 2019, the ECF and P2P financing market has provided close to RM 350 Million of alternative financing for nearly 900 Malaysian MSMEs.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

3 Cryptocurrency Exchanges Granted Conditional Approval from Securities Commission Malaysia

									by Vincent Fong
June 4, 2019
7 comments

Following the finalisation of the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges in Malaysia, Securities Commission Malaysia announced today that it has registered 3 recognised market operators to establish and operate digital asset exchanges in Malaysia.
Also known to many as cryptocurrency exchanges, the operators who received conditional approval from the regulator are namely; Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd, SINEGY Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, and Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn Bhd. These 3 operators are given up to 9 months to fully comply with all regulatory requirements prior to receiving a full license.
David Low, Luno’s South East Asia General Manager, voiced support for the regulator, stating that regulation will ultimately bring clarity and protection to consumers. He also believes that the Malaysian government’s proactive regulation of the digital asset industry shows the significance they place on this sector.

Among the 3 operators, Penang-based SINEGY is the only homegrown startup, Chan Wei Chi, Business Development Head of Sinegy echoed David’s support for the regulation and added that this will enable consumers to invest in a much safer market environment.
Tokenize’s CEO, Qu Yi, shared with Fintech News Malaysia that with this conditional approval, they are looking forward to open trading to the 10,000 users on their waiting list.
Crypto exchanges that are not approved by the SC are required to cease all activities immediately and return all monies and assets collected from investors, this includes the other 19 exchanges who previously applied for licensing from the regulator.
Similarly, all cryptocurrencies and digital asset will require prior approval from Securities Commission Malaysia before it can be traded on any exchanges. At the time of writing there are no official statement from the regulator indicating approval for any digital assets.
In a media statement by Securities Commission Malaysia, they reiterated Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s previous statement that operating unlicensed crypto exchange could lead to RM 10 Million fine and 10 years jail time, or both.
The regulator also reminded the public be mindful of the risk of trading digital assets, including the risk of trading on exchanges that are not registered with Securities Commission Malaysia.
To verify whether a crypto exchange is licensed to operate, members of the public can refer to the following link.

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