Blockchain/Bitcoin

Bursa Malaysia Trialing Blockchain Powered Bonds Marketplace with Singapore’s Hashtacs

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 30, 2020
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Bursa Malaysia is said to be partnering with Hashstacs to co-develop a blockchain Proof-of-Concept project dubbed “Project Harbour” for its bonds marketplace.
Project Harbour is centred around the usage of Distributed Ledger Technology (” DLT”) as a register in facilitating the growth of Labuan’s bond marketplace. The project will take place in Malaysia’s offshore market, Labuan, in collaboration with the Labuan Financial Exchange (LFX), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia.
Project Harbour is aimed at exploring and harnessing the opportunities enabled by blockchain and tokenisation of assets.

The entire lifecycle management of digital bonds will tested and managed on Trident Platform which will be built by Hashstacs. The organisations utilising this plaftfrom includes Bursa Malaysia, Securities Commission Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authoirty, CIMB Investment Bank, Maybank Investment Bank, and, China Construction Bank.
They said that the blockchain based platform will facilitate issuances of digital bonds “seamlessly” while providing a “single source of truth to maintain the integrity of investors’ holdings and track transactions”. In addition, smart contract technology automates the movement of funds and securities, amplifying asset servicing and the provision of liquidity to market participants.
This development follows a growing trend of blockchain use cases in the bonds market, one of the first blockchain-based bond was mandated by World Bank and issued by Commonwealth Bank Australia in 2018. Similarly, The Philippine Bureau of the Treasury launched a bond market place together with UnionBank and PDAX in July 2020.
Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift

Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, said:
“The Exchange closely follows current trends in innovation and new technologies with a view to remaining relevant in this competitive landscape. One of the ways to achieve this is through collaborations with innovative companies. The POC conducted in partnership with Hashstacs presents an opportunity to provide a valuable learning experience to build knowledge and obtain insights that will allow us to grow the bond marketplace. The POC aims to increase operational efficiency, driving down the cost of operations as well as the cost of issuing bonds. We will continue to tap into emerging technological innovations to further develop the marketplace and improve the effectiveness and accessibility of the Exchange”

Benjamin Soh
Mr Benjamin Soh, Managing Director of Hashstacs Pte Ltd, said:
“Hashstacs will develop a blockchain solution to issue, service, trade and clear bonds on the platform. The creation of an industry wide ecosystem will allow for a complete solution in origination, servicing, trading, clearing and settlement, allowing Malaysia to potentially have the first mover advantage in attracting regional and international bond listings.”

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons

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Blockchain/Bitcoin
Trading

Blockchain Technology. What Is It, How Can It Improve Our Lives and Why Should We Care?

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 7, 2020
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There has been a lot of positive buzz about Blockchain technology and digital currencies in the past decade and for good reason. The technology comes with unique perks that make it more reliable, secure, and versatile than conventional payment methods.
And while that buzz is fully justified, the truth is that Blockchain technology still hasn’t reached its full potential and will continue to grow in the future. Digital currencies and the technology behind them will only get bigger in the coming years and if you still don’t know how they work or how they can improve your life, it’s time to inform yourself.
Who to follow?
When you want to enter the world of cryptocurrency the first thing you should do is to follow the right experts. However, this is easier said than done as the increase of the Blockchain space also means that there are lots of so-called ‘crypto gurus’ with dubious credentials. Needless to say, following these will do more harm than good and should be avoided.

In reality, the Blockchain space is, in fact, lacking professionals. There’s an urgent need for programmers who specialize in Blockchain and smart contracts and it will only get more urgent as the industry expands. This means that the large numbers of ‘crypto advisors’ you see online are only there to increase their exposure.
So how can you tell a good crypto expert from a bad one if you are new to Blockchain? Well, the fact that there are many upstarts in the Blockchain world doesn’t mean that real professionals don’t exist. On the contrary, they are out there and are willing to share their knowledge.
Therefore, you should first start by listening to the real experts in the field. These people will keep you up to date with all the latest developments in the industry and will give you sound advice on managing and trading cryptocurrency.
The next thing you should do is get yourself informed about how Blockchain technology works. Learning the ins and outs of cryptos is not a one-day job, but you have to start somewhere. Why not do that here?
What is Blockchain technology?
The Blockchain network is a public database that consists of a ‘chain of blocks’. These blocks are the digital information that users share. For example, if you buy something with Bitcoin, all information regarding the purchase (time, date, amount, and digital signature) is shared between all users on the network.
The next thing that happens is verification of the crypto transaction. This is where the differences between conventional payment methods and cryptocurrency are most apparent.
If you are buying something online using a debit card, for instance, your transaction is first processed by your bank and only then goes through. That’s not the case with Bitcoin.
In the crypto ecosystem, the shared Blockchain has the role of verifying your purchase and not some other entity outside the ecosystem. This is why when people talk about cryptocurrencies they say that they are decentralized. There is no third party in the form of a central processing authority involved in crypto transactions.
Once a transaction is verified, it gets a unique identifying code in the form of a hash. Your transaction block gets its own hash, which is connected to the preceding block. This is done for security reasons too as the double-hashing process means it won’t be worthwhile for a hacker to try and change your transaction.
After a block is stored in the ‘chain’, all users get an updated copy of the Blockchain with the new information which also includes your transaction. You may have heard people speaking of the Blockchain as a distributed ledger and this is the reason why.
Every node in the network must have an identical Blockchain copy which is updated when a transaction is broadcasted. Hence the name distributed ledger.
Governments are turning to Blockchain too
Countries such as China, Japan, Malta, Estonia, and Singapore are already using Blockchain technology to make a lot of their services more efficient and easier to access.
For instance, when Estonia wanted to secure health data of its residents it chose Blockchain technology. Similarly, Malta opened its doors to various cryptocurrencies by introducing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies as early as 2018.
However, if you are looking for the world leader when it comes to incorporating cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology, you should look no further than China. The Asian country has thousands of Blockchain startups and it is heavily involved in most of them.
More importantly, though, the Chinese government is currently dedicated to turning their crypto e-RMB project into a fully functional payment method as soon as possible. e-RMB stands for digital renminbi and China plans to use the cryptocurrency together with its national currency in the near future. When that happens, the digital renminbi will be pegged to the Chinese national currency and both will be used simultaneously.
China has lots of reasons to turn to a digital currency. Chief among these is the protection the country would get if sanctions are once again placed on its economy.
The Chinese want to reduce the impact of future sanctions and threats on both the country and its companies. A cryptocurrency will offset the effects of sanctions imposed on both and will offer long-term stability to China’s economy.
The Chinese are so committed to digitalizing their country because Blockchain-based technologies are perfect when it comes to managing crises too. For instance, China used Blockchain technology to battle Covid-19 and is lauded as one of the countries that dealt the best with the novel coronavirus.
Companies that accept Bitcoin
It’s not only countries and governments that are transitioning to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. A lot of companies are following the same trend and are catching the crypto-wave too.
Some of them are trying to stay ahead of the curve and are even trying to develop their own cryptocurrencies. Facebook, for instance, has announced the Libra cryptocurrency in 2019, released its experimental code, and promised to ‘put it in circulation’ by the end of 2020.
However, developing your own currency is quite difficult. What is more, most companies don’t need to have a cryptocurrency of their own. That’s why the majority of companies are adopting existing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin these days.
PayPal, for example, accepts Bitcoin and facilitates payments via processors such as GoCoin, Coinbase, and BitPay. The popular e-Wallet was one of the first companies to announce that it would accept Bitcoin back in 2014.
These days PayPal once again seems to be pushing the crypto-boundaries. If insiders are to be believed, the company is thinking about offering direct sales of cryptocurrency to PayPal users pretty soon too.
Shopify is another popular online platform that is open to Bitcoin. They have been accepting the cryptocurrency since 2013 and also allow their users to set up their shops and use Bitcoin as a payment method.
Similarly, Rakuten, referred by many as the Japanese version of Amazon has also started accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash. The online retailer also went a little further and even launched a cryptocurrency Rakuten Wallet.
Lastly, Microsoft, one of the biggest tech companies in the world, also accepts Bitcoin. In fact, it has been doing that ever since 2014 and you can purchase most of its products using the cryptocurrency. This means that the cryptocurrency can now buy you top Microsoft games, apps, as well as operating system and software licenses.
Featured image credit: Pixabay

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Lending

Fundaztic Partners With Lazada For Zero-Interest Financing for E-commerce Businesses

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 18, 2020
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Fundaztic, a peer-to-peer financing (P2P) platform, partners with Lazada to deliver an interest-free financing program for Lazada sellers under the government’s ePENJANA initiative for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (‘MSME’).
The initiative aims to support an estimated 30,000 unique local MSMEs to digitalise amidst the disruption to businesses caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
MSMEs are especially vulnerable during these difficult times. In particular, traditional businesses might find it challenging to begin the digital transformation process without sufficient support. Hence, the interest-free financing programme aims to alleviate some pressure off the MSMEs in this regard.

Calvin Foo
“Being a fully digitalised platform ourselves, we can understand the difficulties and importance of going digital, and we feel strongly about enabling more MSMEs to undergo a similar transformation in order to improve their accessibility and optimise their processes,”
says Calvin Foo, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Fundaztic.
Fundaztic’s platform primarily finance MSMEs; and as of 30th June 2020, the number of unique MSMEs served via the platform is said to represent 50% of the total P2P industry. Fundaztic.com allows businesses to apply for funding anytime, anywhere through the use of any device connected to the internet.
Leo Chow
“Lazada is focused on boosting our local MSMEs growth with the right tools, support and financing to succeed. With one-third of the population shopping online through our platform every month, we are confident that our continued investment into Malaysia’s small business community will augment Malaysia’s digital ecosystem and further bolster the recovery of the nation’s economy.”
said Leo Chow, Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Malaysia.
From 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020, the Micro and SME E-commerce campaign on Lazada features a series of customised incentives which includes interest-free financing support for successful MSME loan applicants.
Eligible existing and new merchants will benefit from a full subsidy of their online startup cost, which includes creation of store and product listings, free shipping and delivery services, training and workshops as well as free access to Lazada’s digital and advertising solutions, allowing them to quickly sell online and diversify their revenue streams.
The initiative also aims to support the differently-abled communities through these trying times in an effort to help them develop a sustainable income stream online.
In July 2019, another P2P financing platform, Funding Societies also offered financing to e-commerce merchants in collaboration with Lazada.

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WealthTech

DBS Ex-Chief Innovation Officer Neal Cross Recounts His Journey from Banker to Entrepreneur

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 20, 2020
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In just two years of commercial operation, Australian wealthtech startup PictureWealth has grown to more than AUD$2 billion in funds under advice, annualized revenues of AUD$20 million, and a client base of over 40,000 customers.
This year only, the fast-growing startup has done 15 acquisitions, and just recently closed a AUD$12 million late-seed funding round to help it to pursue its ambition to reinvent the financial advisory landscape in Australia.
“When we look at the market, there are a lot of robo-advisors, but they are not really dealing with people’s hopes and fears,” Neal Cross, co-founder and chairman of PictureWealth, told the Fintech News Network in a new episode of the Fintech Fireside Asia webinar series. “We are trying to close that gap and are building a business where we are basically the problem solvers for people’s hopes and fears.”

After five years at Singapore’s DBS Bank where he led the bank’s digital transformation and helped instill a true culture of innovation, Cross turned his side project  into a full time position. With PictureWealth, Cross said he aims to deliver financial advice and education at a fair price and in a transparent manner.
PictureWealth’s first business, Cross explained, is the tech company and customer-facing digital platform that helps people manage their money better and get financial education.
“We want people to use the platform and have a better relationship with money, not have financial stress, and hopefully be happier, and never pay us a single cent,” Cross said.
“We want to give you the platform for free, we want you to know that we have a good moral compass. We are transparent. Yes, we want to make money to grow the business but there are ways and means to do that … We want to give people true, and honest financial advice … and we charge a fair fee to do that.”
This platform, Cross said, is being offered to both consumers and corporates through the PictureWealth employee wellness program.
And then there is the licensing business where affiliate financial planners can provide financial services and/or products as authorized representative.
“We charge them a fee … and we give them access to kind of a ‘financial planning, business in a box’ [product]. It comprises tech components, processes, training, support, which enables them to be more effective at being a financial planner, at running a financial planning business. That’s the big acquisition we did [of NEO Financial Solutions earlier this year.]”
PictureWealth also has a financial advisory services business where the startup actively hires and acquiring financial planners. These planners and advisors “operate under our license and can use our technology tools,” Cross said. “We can also acquire their business. So if you are a financial planner in Australia and, you know, want a more beneficial exit for your business or a combine model with some exit now, some later, then come talk to us.”
During his conversation with the Fintech News Network, Cross recalled his work at DBS Bank that have earned him and the bank numerous accolades and rewards, ultimately turning him into a household name in the global fintech community. He also shared his experience and the main challenges he faced when committing full-time to a young fintech startup, stressing how important it is for fintech companies to have a diverse team comprising innovative, growth-oriented talents, but also more experienced, structured profiles.
Cross was also recently appointed to digibank aspirant Razer Fintech’s board of advisor, a role and company he’s very excited about. “Razor is so focused on experience, details, elegance and beauty, but also form and functions, and execution … and they’re into finance. I mean, it’s like a fintech innovator’s dream,” Cross said, sharing his excitement.
“There are some very good digital banks in Singapore and Hong Kong, but they are not really focused on [Millennials], a segment which I feel hasn’t been addressed. Using technology to address this segment is still profitable … and at the same time, creating something that is really specific, [which] adds value and really addresses who [these customers] are as a generation … it’s very exciting to be part of that journey.”
When asked whether he thought smaller fintech companies still had a chance to compete in a market that’s increasingly dominated by larger fish such as Grab and Ant Financial, Cross said that although these so-called super-apps continue to eat up the smaller players and expand across multiple verticals, their size makes it difficult for them to be good and efficient at everything they’re doing, living plenty of space and opportunities for younger, smaller startups.
“There’s a lot of fintechs solving very niche problems and it’s very difficult to build a business which solves the problem using the experience and language that appeals to a certain sub-sector. It’s very hard to do that as a ‘super platform’ and be good at addressing everyone’s problems,” Cross said.
“I’m not sold on super-apps. Unless you have a brand people love … But I’m not sure that hyper dominance will solve every problem and will be the way forward.”
The full video to the session can be view below

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Regtech/Regulation

Securities Commission Inks Fintech Cooperation Agreement With OJK Indonesia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 24, 2020
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The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) signed a fintech cooperation agreement with Indonesia’s Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) to establish a collaborative framework to develop the fintech ecosystem in both markets.
OJK Indonesia is an Indonesian government agency that regulates and supervises the financial services sector, which includes banking, capital markets, and non-bank financial industries sectors.
The agreement between the SC and OJK aims to facilitate information sharing on emerging trends and regulatory developments in fintech, provide joint innovation project opportunities and facilitate referrals of fintech businesses seeking to operate in each other’s jurisdiction.

It was signed by SC Chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar and OJK Vice Chairman Ir. Nurhaida at the Virtual Innovation Day organised by the latter.
Datuk Syed Zaid Albar
“The signing of this MoU marks an important milestone for both the SC and OJK. We now share the intention to promote innovation in our respective capital markets. Through greater collaboration, both Malaysia and Indonesia can develop and scale up our fintech industries in support of the ASEAN Economic Community,”
said Syed Zaid.
ASEAN represents one of the world’s fastest-growing regions with a population of 670 million and an expected GDP of USD4.7 trillion by 2025. Given its emerging middle class and high internet penetration rates, ASEAN have the potential to become a thriving center for innovative businesses and services.
Since 2017, the SC had established six fintech agreements with global regulators such as the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) among others.
As part of its digital agenda, the SC had introduced various fintech initiatives since 2015, such as being the first jurisdiction in the Asia-Pacific to regulate equity crowdfunding (ECF). This was followed by the regulatory framework for peer-to-peer (P2P) financing, digital investment management (DIM) services and digital asset exchanges (DAX) among others.
In May this year, it introduced the framework for online distribution of capital market products through e-Services platforms like e-wallet or e-payment service providers.

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E-Wallets
Payments

BigPay Sees a 469% Spike in Remittance Transaction Volume

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 28, 2020
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AirAsia Group is increasingly shifting its focus from aviation to its digital businesses as pandemic continues to batter its revenue. During its 2nd quarter financial results announcement, the group reported a 98% decline in year-on-year revenue.
On the other hand, it’s digital financial service arm, BigPay is reportedly seeing a 469% spike in its remittance volume in the first half of 2020. Sources from Fintech News have also similarly observed other digital remittance players in Malaysia enjoying an increase in remittance transaction within their platform.
In the second quarter of 2020, BigPay also saw a 11% increase in revenue with remittance contributing a large chunk to it. Its Group CEO Tony Fernandes said they are “confident that BigPay will become Asean’s first digital bank”.

Aireen Omar
Commenting on BigPay’s performance, President (Digital) of AirAsia Group Berhad Aireen Omar said,
“We have virtually built a bank through BigPay, where Gross Transaction Value improved by 15% in 2Q2020 despite the travel restrictions. BigPay’s remittance service has gathered momentum as volume increased by 469% in 1H2020.

While BigPay has secured key licenses for payment and remittance in Malaysia and Singapore, it is actively looking at expanding into other markets soon. International money transfer is now available in Malaysia and Singapore, enabling customers to remit to 10 other countries.

BigPay continues to expand its user base and user engagement levels as its user signup rate increased by over 10% MoM. BigPay is actively developing new key products, including a bill payments service which is underway and will be rolled out in 3Q2020.”

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E-Wallets
Payments

Boost Sees 140% Spike in Gross Transaction Value

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 2, 2020
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E-wallet operator Boost said in a media statement that Malaysian consumers have embraced a digital lifestyle and made contactless payments as the key payment method during the Recovery Movement Order (RMCO).
This comes as Boost is reporting 140% increase in Gross Transaction Value (GTV) in August 2020 compared to the same period last year on August 2019. The e-wallet is also seeing 77% monthly increase in GTV after the MCO period between April to August.
Its recently launched Boost Payment Link, a contactless payment solution developed for MSME merchants has also seen an increase in transactions by 21 times to-date.

Boost added that it now has 8.5 million users.
Mohd Khairil Abdullah
“While MSMEs have been hailed as the backbone of the economy, it takes consumer spending to spur economic recovery. Collectively, Malaysian businesses and consumers have the power to impact the economy positively and Malaysians understand this. According to our data, Boost merchants from the small and micro business segment performed better at maintaining earnings during the downturn compared to larger enterprises.
said Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Boost.

Featured image credit: edited from freepik.com

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Insurtech

Fi Life Introduces New 10 to 30-Year Level Term Life Insurance Policies

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 3, 2020
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Fi Life announced the expansion of its existing 20-year level term life insurance policy to 10-year, 15-year, 25-year and 30-year level terms.
These level term policies underwritten by Tokio Marine Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd is in addition to the yearly renewable term introduced in 2015.
With this expansion, consumers can opt for a life insurance policy where premiums are fixed for the duration of the term they have chosen. For example, if a customer chooses a 30-year level term Fi Life policy, they will pay the same level premium for the next 30 years. If she instead chooses a 10-year level term, they would pay a level premium for the next 10 years.

This different level term duration gives flexibility to consumers to select one that is best suited to their protection needs. For example, a parent with very young children might opt for a 20 or a 25-year level term policy, where the coverage period lasts until his children reach working age. For the same reason, another parent, but with teenage children, might select a shorter 10-year level term policy.

Licensed financial planners also have more flexibility in recommending different level term duration periods for their clients, suited to their individual family protection needs.
These level term policies differ from Fi Life’s yearly renewable term policies in that premiums for the level term policies are fixed for the chosen duration. With yearly renewable term policies, premiums increase slightly every year with the policy holder’s age.
Despite higher premiums in the beginning in comparison to yearly renewable term policies, policyholders of level term policies are able to enjoy fixed premiums without worrying about future premium increases.
This provides a price saving advantage in the long run (up to 57% discount for a 30-year level term premium in comparison to a yearly renewable term for a 40 year old non-smoking male). Both types of policies have a critical illness add-on option.
Fi Life and Tokio Marine Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd co-developed the new level term policies based on feedback from customers as well as financial planners.
Fi Life offers instantaneous premium quotes side-by-side, one for the level term policy, the other for the yearly renewable term policy. It claims that consumers only need 10 to 15 minutes to complete the online underwriting process and receive their quotation and make their comparison.

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E-Wallets
Insurtech

Boost Expands Digital Insurance Services Following US$70M Investment from Great Eastern

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 3, 2020
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Axiata Digital’s e-wallet Boost has introduced a suite of affordable and accessible micro insurance/takaful coverage under ‘Boost Protect’.
This new feature available under the ‘Insurance’ tile in the app marks Boost’s foray into expanding the use of its e-wallet beyond just payments and into digital financial services.
Exclusive to Boost users, it offers a variety of coverages that can be easily viewed and purchased on the app. The coverages are powered by Aspirasi and underwritten by Great Eastern’s General Insurance, Life Assurance and Takaful.

In June, Great Eastern had invested US$70 million in Axiata Digital acquiring a stake of 21.875%, making it the largest fintech investment to date.
Among the seven types of coverage currently offered under Boost Protect include; BillProtect, CardProtect, HospiCash, Protect Super6, ProtectActive, ScreenProtect and SME OwnerProtect.
As a value-added benefit, every Boost Protect insurance/takaful package comes with COVID-19 Assist. It is an additional financial assistance program in the event of being infected with the COVID-19, insurance holders will receive a RM200 daily hospitalisation cash assistance upon diagnosis for up to 60 days and RM20,000 financial assistance upon death.
Mohd Khairil Abdullah
“We endeavour to #KitaBoostKita by providing users protection and peace of mind while they continue to live life or do business amid the pandemic at a very low cost where users can now enjoy bite-sized protection for extra-large coverage that caters to their various needs.
The provision of micro-insurance/takaful coverage is just the start of what we plan to do with digital financial services through our e-wallet platform, we have bigger plans to further expand on this service over the next couple of years,”
said Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Boost.

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Regtech/Regulation

Banks Should Turn to Using AI in eKYC in the Digital Arms Race

									by Vincent Fong
September 11, 2020
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There’s an old joke on how on the internet nobody knows that you’re a dog, which speaks to how the internet has become synonymous with anonymity. While anonymity is fine in many instances, in an increasingly digital world it has become crucial that you are who you say you are.
Nowhere is this more critical than in the financial services space, where banks are required to ensure that your funds are lawfully gained and are not channeled to some nefarious activity. For the longest time banks in Malaysia required you to show up in the branch physically to conduct a face to face KYC.
All that has changed, when in June 2020, Bank Negara Malaysia released its much-anticipated guidelines for eKYC in Malaysia. The policy document was created in recognition of the importance of digital identity as an enabler for user convenience and cost efficiency for financial institutions.  As such, the framework included guidelines for the use of AI and machine learning in identification and verification. AI is viewed by the regulator as a tool for “reducing human intervention”

George Lee, CEO, Innov8tif, a homegrown e-KYC solution provider sees this as positive step towards promoting the use of AI and machine learning within the BFSI sector. The local tech firm was founded in 2011 and its e-KYC solution is being used by the likes of Valyou, a Telenor-owned remittance service and UOB’s new digital-only bank, UOB TMRW.
Are AIs Superior to Humans in eKYC and Facial Recognition?
AI represents significant cost reduction opportunities particularly within the KYC space where it is time-consuming and previously required humans to manually read through the documents, and verify pictures against identification documents like the NRIC.
But how does AI fare against humans when it comes to facial recognition, according to George, BNM issuing this piece of regulation is an indication the regulator recognises AI as comparable or even superior to humans when it comes to cognitive analysis.
Citing a study that was done by the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America, George said both humans and deep learning algorithms perform with similar levels of accuracy when identifying faces, however since subjects picked to identify faces in the study are “super-recognisers” who are experts in the field, it is unlikely that you’ll find the same level of efficacy in a real-world environment when it’s not done by a group of facial recognition experts.

He was quick to stress that this isn’t a man-vs-machine sort of thing, George said that Innov8tif believes in the concept of AI as a co-worker. He said that when a combination of humans and AI were used for the purposes eKYC, the level of accuracy shot up and they’ve observed far better results.
He pointed that AI excels as an initial filter for the bad apples, the algorithm can effectively decline cases which outright does not meet requirements and also flag borderline cases that require human intervention. In effect, this will reduce the amount of manual labour required while still maximising the user success rate of genuine customers.
This notion seems to also be reflected in Bank Negara’s policy document as well, where it states when done solely by humans, financial institutions shall give due regard where there is higher risk of misidentification and establish necessary safeguards to address this risk.
Why eKYC is Key?
With virtual banks set to arrive on Malaysians shores in the near future, the digital arms race is inevitable. As with any race, how you start is crucial and digital onboarding represents the start of a customer’s digital journey.
KPMG’s recent digital banking study seems to indicate that Malaysians are keen on digital onboarding process, with 82% of respondents indicating that they will open an online platform as along as they are regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia.
With the issuance of the new policy, banks are on board with digital onboarding, CIMB recently rolled out digital account opening in Malaysia, and its pure digital outfit in the Philippines saw 1 million sign-ups within 10 months. Similarly HSBC has also launched its digital account opening in Malaysia as well.
While in Malaysia all these are considered new features, in other markets being able to open your account digitally is considered just a hygiene factor for financial institutions. Where they set themselves apart from the competition is in the ease of account opening, with studies even going so far to compare the number of clicks it takes to open a new bank account.
This will soon be the case in Malaysia as well, the key lies not in having eKYC to enable digital onboarding but in using AI and other tools to simplify that process for your customers.

Image Credit: KPMG Digital Banking Report
Recognising the shifting trends, Innov8tif has been developing and fine-tuning its solution branded as “EMAS eKYC” which they described as a product suite that comprises of “independently modularised technologies to support digital ID verification in e-KYC and fraud management processes”.
These components, they said, performs automated recognition and extraction of ID details, facial liveness detection and anti-spoofing, facial biometrics verification, identity document authenticity check, and real-world existence validation. They added that it also supports valid identity documents issued in Southeast Asia, as well as worldwide travel passports.
George is of the view that the digital tide has just begun in Malaysia, he seems optimistic that Innov8tif is well-positioned to ride this wave given that they have invested substantially in their technology, he described his company as one that have grown into a small AI powerhouse that enables them to push the boundaries in things like accuracy and processing speed.

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Lending

TM Selects CapBay as Fintech Partner for Vendor Financing Programme

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 8, 2020
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CapBay, a P2P supply chain financing platform, became the first and only fintech selected to be part of Telekom Malaysia’s (TM) Vendor Financing Programme known as Perintis.
CapBay said it will aim to provide fast, affordable and fair access to supply chain finance solutions, bridging the cash flow gap for all levels and sizes of vendors throughout TM’s supply chain, including its SME subcontractors.
This comes on the heels of TM’s announcement earlier this month that they had partnered with 14 other financial institutions to provide training and development for vendors to improve themselves. The selected institutions will provide financing and consultation to TM’s local vendors.

The MOU was signed yesterday by Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer of TM and CapBay’s CEO, Ang Xing Xian alongside other representatives from a panel of distinguished banks.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by YB Dato’ Sri Dr Hj Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Co-operatives, accompanied by Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Bakke Salleh, Chairman of TM.

“SMEs stand to benefit the most from this innovative programme as a large majority of TM’s vast network of nationwide vendors are SMEs”
said Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, Chairman of TM Bhd in his speech at the signing ceremony.
With this latest initiative, CapBay’s P2P investors can now expand and diversify their investment portfolio backed by government and large corporate receivables while earning healthier returns. CapBay offers lower risk investment notes in a bid to enhance investor trust and confidence especially during these times of uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ang Xing Xian
Ang Xing Xian, CEO of CapBay said,
“With TM’s assistance in authenticating relationships and transactions, vendor processing requests will be digitised end-to-end, making risk assessment, onboarding and transactional financing simpler and faster,”
“With the recent OPR cuts, investors are worried that they will see lower returns on their investments and are looking for higher yielding investments that are relatively safe. At our core, we strive to offer P2P investors high quality investment notes that offer good yield and low financing loss risk. Investors can consider this as an alternative to fixed deposit savings,”
CapBay launched their P2P financing pilot programme in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and claimed to have achieved over RM20 million of financing over 150 notes while maintaining zero defaults and financing losses for their investors.

Featured Image: TM welcomes CapBay as the first and only fintech for PERINTIS. From left: Ang Xing Xian (CEO and Co-founder of CapBay), Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh (Chairman of TM Bhd) with Darrel Ang (Co-founder of CapBay)

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Regtech/Regulation

MyCash Money Picks Onfido to Power its eKYC

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 11, 2020
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Onfido bags MyCash Money as its latest customer in the region, providing the company identity verification and authentication services. Besides MyCash, Onfido also counts fintechs like BigPay and MoneyMatch among its base of customers in Malaysia.
MyCash Money, is an e-marketplace designed for migrants in Malaysia and Singapore that is helping to drive financial inclusion by offering secure and convenient online services to foreign workers in said countries who do not have access to online banking or credit cards.
By integrating Onfido’s verification service, MyCash Money users are able to sign up by taking a photo of their government-issued identity document (ID) and a selfie. Onfido first checks that the ID seems genuine and is not fraudulent, and then matches it to the user’s face.

This ensures the person presenting the identity is its legitimate owner and is physically present. It purports that users would be able to start their digital journey anywhere, anytime, through a simple and user-friendly online experience that meets financial regulatory requirements.
Since launching in June 2020, MyCash Money is said to have facilitated remittance of more than S$1.5 million, for over 5,000 workers. With over 100,000 Bangladeshis currently working in Singapore, there is significant potential for growth.
Mehedi Hasan
“MyCash Money is a mobile-only remittance service connecting unbanked migrant workers with technology driving true financial inclusion. Through our partnership with Onfido, we are simplifying the KYC process while enabling our users to open an account in just a few quick and easy steps.”
said Mehedi Hasan, Group CEO and Founder at MyCash.
Husayn Kassai
“In today’s digital age, more and more organisations are moving their business online but the problem of exclusion is growing with it. Nearly a third of the world’s population are either ‘unbanked’ or ‘underbanked’ and we’re proud to be partnering with organisations such as MyCash Money to help solve this. With just a smartphone and a government ID, users can now more easily get access to send and receive money.”
said Husayn Kassai, CEO and Co-founder at Onfido.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin
Payments

Valyou Launches Blockchain-Based Remittance Services in Bangladesh

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 11, 2020
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Valyou, Malaysian digital remittance provider, announced the launch of blockchain-based remittance services in Bangladesh in partnership with Standard Chartered and bKash, a mobile financial service provider, to facilitate instant transfers from Malaysia.
The service is powered by blockchain technology from Ant Group. Its applies blockchain technology helps streamline the remittance process, boost the speed of delivery, improve information security and enhance transparency of the process.
Wage earner remittance by Bangladeshi nationals working abroad is one of the key pillars to the Bangladesh economy and a major contributor to the nation’s foreign currency reserve. Malaysia is an important part of this remittance ecosystem. Through this service, the Bangladeshi diaspora in Malaysia can send wage remittance via Valyou to a beneficiary in Bangladesh who is a bKash wallet user.

Standard Chartered Bank is the fund settlement bank and regulatory approval holder for the service, which is a collaboration among Standard Chartered, Ant Group, bKash and Valyou to cater to the Bangladeshi diaspora based in Malaysia.
The service is in the final stages of commercial testing and will be available to customers in Bangladesh and Malaysia soon.
Prasanna Rao
Prasanna Rao, CEO of Valyou Sdn Bhd said:
“We continue to offer ease and convenience to our customers especially during these challenging times and Bangladeshi’s in Malaysia can use the Valyou Mobile Wallet to send money directly into the bKash wallet. Valyou has always been in the forefront of adopting new technology aimed to enhance customer efficiency. We believe that this blockchain technology integration will save cost and time without compromising safety and security of the remittance transaction sent from Valyou to bKash.”
Valyou is a licensed and regulated as a money services business (MSB) and approved to issue e-money by Bank Negara Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Valyou has is said to have 22 branches, 21 International Remittance Agents and over 1,300 Cash In Cash Out merchants nationwide.

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Payments

Tranglo Enters Myanmar With KBZ Bank Partnership for Remittance

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 21, 2020
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Tranglo, a Malaysian based cross border payment specialist, announced a brand-new partnership with Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank) of Myanmar as part of its expansion the country.
The collaboration is said to add Myanmar to Tranglo’s global network that includes countries like China, Indonesia and Singapore, to name a few.
According to a 2020 Myanmar Times report quoting U Kyaw Htwe, Chair of Myanmar’s Immigration and Local Overseas Labour Committee, there were 4 million Myanmar workers in foreign countries, either officially or unofficially. These workers represent a significant market in an increasingly competitive remittance industry.

Tranglo CEO Jacky Lee said,
Jacky Lee
“One of our priorities in times of uncertainty is ensuring the safety of workers and their families back at home. With our technology and KBZ Bank’s presence in the country, long queues at the bank are a thing of the past. Our API will allow beneficiaries to receive money in their KBZ Bank accounts directly, quickly and securely.”
With the KBZ Bank tie-up, Tranglo’s partners are poised to benefit from immediate access to the customer base of Myanmar’s privately-owned bank, which is said to have over 500 branches across the country.
Stoney Hsia, KBZ Bank Head of Wholesale Banking said,
Stoney Hsia
“Through this significant partnership with Tranglo, we are addressing the needs of Myanmar migrant workers living abroad to send money home quickly and conveniently. Instead of using traditional or informal means of remitting money, we encourage migrant workers to take up this reliable method of transferring money directly into the beneficiary’s KBZ Bank account. This also presents time and cost savings for the beneficiary who does not need to travel to a bank branch or wait in line.”
Early this year in January, Tranglo had announced partnerships to provide cross border remittance services for Alipay through its Singaporean entity and another with Hong Kong’s WeChat Pay.

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Insurtech

Fi Life to Tap Kakitangan.com’s SME Base to Offer Insurance to 50,000 Employees

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 21, 2020
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Fi Life will be offering direct life protection for users of the Kakitangan.com’s payroll and leave management web app which is said to serve more than 5,000 SMEs and 50,000 employees.
Through the Kakitangan.com’s web app, users are now able to obtain personalised quotes to insure their lives against death, critical illness and total and permanent disability, for the benefit of their families and dependents.
This personalised life insurance service is part of Kakitangan.com’s expansion into employee benefits offerings, in addition to its existing payroll, expense claims management, and leave management service.

Fi Life’s life, critical illness and total and permanent disability protection are offered to Kakitangan.com users on an individual basis where premium payments are the responsibility of the user. This means that, even if the user were to leave the employment of their company, they will continue to enjoy the benefits of Fi Life’s protection.
Although premium payments are the responsibility of the user, Fi Life and Kakitangan.com encourage employers to reimburse their premium expense during their term of employment as part of their employees’ benefits package.
Effon Khoo, founder of Kakitangan.com, outlined Kakitangan.com’s objective with the Fi Life partnership:
Effon Khoo

“This is the first step for Kakitangan.com to expand on employee benefits offerings for Kakitangan.com’s customers and employees. We hope to build on our partnership with Fi Life to empower SMEs’ people operations and experience, and hence strengthen the SME as an organisation.”

Tan Jiann Meng, General Manager and co-founder of Fi Life, commented:
Tan Jiann Meng

“Fi Life believes that life, critical illness and total and permanent disability protection is of utmost importance for all employees with dependents. Through this partnership with Kakitangan.com, Fi Life makes access to these critical protection products that much easier”.

Each user will receive a personalised quote based on their age, sex and smoking status (see illustration below). After getting the quote, users can give consent to essential details like NRIC, address and employer details to be passed to Fi Life, so that their online application can be pre-filled.

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Digital Transformation

OCBC Introduces its Mobile-First Banking Solution FRANK to Malaysia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 23, 2020
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OCBC Malaysia announced the launch of its digital banking solution FRANK by OCBC in Malaysia. This solution was first introduced in Singapore circa 2010.
In Malaysia, OCBC says that it seeks to provide the mobile generation with a “fresh new of banking” using mobile only banking options to make banking “less rigid whilst removing layered financial jargon and complex processes to make banking even more accessible”.
According to OCBC Bank’s Head of Consumer Financial Services Mr Lim Wyson, the initiative provides a vital piece of the jigsaw for making banking less restrictive in today’s digital world and will centre entirely on the customer’s mobile phone.

Lim Wyson
“Our consumer research on the banking needs of the mobile generation tells us that banking is way too cumbersome for them and we think it is time we give them more control and remove some of the restrictions associated with traditional ways of banking.
“As a leading bank in the region, our capabilities and resources have enabled us to develop something that engages the mobile generation in a manner that is more aligned with their lifestyle. FRANK by OCBC is dynamic and never static.
The first of the initiatives of FRANK by OCBC is a reinvention of the traditional features of Fixed Deposits. Our customers will now be able to enjoy the FD rates they normally see in traditional banking but without the usual penalties and restrictions,”
he said.
Frank by OCBC features a “Save and Spend Pots’ which enables users to earn interest while “maintaining control over when to spend their money” and does not require the “usual high minimum initial placecements of a Fixed Deposit”
Lim added that this provides users the flexibility to use their funds only when need arises without being penalised

Additionaly FRANK by OCBC features also include a function called “Money In$ights” which automatically categorises their spending and allows users to compare how they manage their money against others through a feature called “People Like You”.
It also comes with the FRANK debit card that they said has no foreign exchange mark-up when performing overseas transactions as well as for spending in foreign currency when making online purchases, unlike what is typical of most cards.

To sign up for this service, customers need to download mobile banking app, complete the online application form, and then head over to a nearby OCBC branch for biometric verification. A minimum deposit is needed and must be maintained in order to operate FRANK by OCBC

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Payments

Will QR Payments Mount a Challenge in a World Dominated by Plastic?

									by Vincent Fong
October 9, 2020
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There is a quiet war waging in the consumer payments space, and no, it’s not the skirmishes between e-wallet companies trying to “out-cashback” each other. The real struggle is between card payments hunkering down to maintain dominance and QR payments mounting an offensive to capture market share.
The most obvious example of QR payments success is of course in China where virtually everyone pays using either Alipay or WeChat Pay. In 2019, these two companies collectively surpassed US$ 6.5 trillion in transactions and count over 1.7 billion users in China alone. It is a market that’s so lucrative that even China’s card scheme UnionPay decided to try their hands at launching their own QR payments.
However, outside of China, in some of the world’s most advanced cashless societies like Sweden and Australia, QR payments are still struggling to find a footing in a world that is dominated by plastic. Similarly, in Malaysia despite e-wallets gaining significant footing and the Malaysian government spending nearly RM 1.2 billion in promoting e-wallets, QR payments are still nowhere close to dethroning the transaction value of card payments in Malaysia.

The transaction value of card payments are more than ten times of that of e-money in Malaysia, bearing in mind that not all e-money transactions are QR payments.

But the card schemes are under no illusion, both Visa and Mastercard recognise the growth of QR payments in the region and have taken active steps to defend card dominance and hedge their bet by also introducing their own QR payments. The growth of QR payments will see even stronger growth with the pandemic pushing digital payments coupled with the fact that QR codes are becoming a part of our daily fabric and is used for contact tracing every time we enter any establishment.

To push for higher adoption of contactless payments, Mastercard called on regulators around the globe to raise its limit. As a way ensuring that new fintech players also opt for payment cards, both Visa and Mastercard have launched their own Visa Fintech Fast Track and Mastercard Fintech Express programmes.
In Malaysia, Soft Space was the first to be part of Visa’s Fintech Fast Track programme, it provides a new commercial framework that includes eased access to Visa’s payment capabilities and streamlined processes to support companies of different sizes and at different growth phases. The two companies will work together to offer start-ups and technology companies the opportunity to work with Soft Space to launch Visa’s prepaid card products in Malaysia.
A big appeal of QR payments is that it’s relatively low-cost to adopt for merchants compared to a traditional payment terminal, therefore, enabling small and even micro-entrepreneurs to accept digital payments, but Visa is also eyeing this segment as well. The answer for them is to enable merchants to use their smartphones as a payment acceptance device.
Speaking to Fintech News Malaysia, Previn Pillay, Head of Digital Solutions, Asia Pacific, Visa said that,
“A key part of that is enabling digital payments acceptance and Visa is calling on the payments industry to accelerate the availability of Tap to Phone solutions, an alternative that allows business owners to accept contactless payments via their NFC-enabled Android smartphone.”
He shared that in their “Visa Asia Pacific Tap to Phone Study”, 55% of consumers have expressed the interest to use Tap to Phone payments at checkout counters even though the solution is not yet widely available. Most of them said that this sort of payment option would be most useful to them at convenience stores (59%), restaurants, food courts and street stalls (56%), or kiosks (52%).
Visa is far from the only company realising the potential to turn your phone into a payments acceptance device. In August, Apple announced that it had acquired Mobeewave for around US$100 million. While the Apple spokesperson did not reveal what the company plans to do with this acquisition, it’s not hard to piece together the puzzle that the company is interested to turn its iPhones and iPads into payment acceptance devices.
In Malaysia, we are surprisingly advanced in this space. While Fiserv was announcing to the world that they were the first to enable acceptance of pin-based payments using smartphones in February 2020, Soft Space had already begun rolling out as early as October 2018 with PayNet and they are one of the few that is approved by Visa to do so. They have since worked with Maybank, CIMB, and Hong Leong to roll out this solution in Malaysia. They have also found success abroad when Japan’s payment card scheme JCB, announced that it will be tapping Soft Space’s technological expertise to similarly roll out in Japan.

Soft Space’s Fasstap used in transit environment in Japan
Speaking to Joel Tay, CEO, Soft Space, he seems excited about the opportunities that these shifts in trends bring and he seemed optimistic that they are in a good position to ride the wave. He quipped that with Mobeewave being bought over by Apple, his company has one less competitor to contend with in the Android ecosystem, a space that has less than 10 players who are globally certified to provide this solution.
Will the rise of smartphone payment acceptance devices be a key factor to maintain card dominance over QR payments? Will it kill off traditional payment terminals? It’s still too soon to tell but Joel has a different view,

“Payments are so culture-centric, I don’t think there will one payment method that is so dominant that it will kill all the other payment methods. When QR codes were on the rise, everyone speculated that it will kill contactless payments but now its making a comeback”.
Joel believes that different circumstances call for different solutions and the cheapest way for merchants to accept digital payments is still the QR code option. However, contactless card payments still remain the most seamless way for consumers to make payments. This is also reflected in their business as well, where on one hand they offer white-labelling solutions for e-wallets and on the other, they are working with institutions to roll out the smartphone payment terminals.
They observed that even players like Grab recognise the fragmentation and have also launched their own GrabPay card in addition to their QR payment solution.

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E-Wallets
Payments

You Can “Setel” More Than Just Fuel at Petronas With New In-Store Payment Feature

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 24, 2020
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Setel, Petronas’ e-payment solution that enables fuel purchases directly from mobile devices, has expanded its services with the addition of the Deliver2Me feature for in-store cashless payments.
Deliver2Me allows Setel users to purchase selected items from participating Kedai Mesra outlets and have it delivered directly to their vehicle while refueling. Targeting those on-the-go, Deliver2Me aims to offer customers a convenient way to shop without having to leave the comfort and safety of their vehicle.
For those who prefer the full shopping experience, Setel has introduced a cashless payment system at 800 participating Kedai Mesra outlets through the Setel Wallet.

Customers will not only be able to earn Mesra points, but also perform points redemption directly through the application.
Iskandar Ezzahuddin
“At Setel, we’re constantly pushing boundaries to deliver a seamless and frictionless experience to our customers beyond fuel. For instance, customers no longer need to wait in line after refuelling to grab a cup of coffee and nasi lemak through Deliver2Me. Today, we are pleased to offer greater convenience to over 1.5 million Setel users through our cashless payment system in Kedai Mesra. This is just a stepping stone in our journey of expansion as we add more intuitive features tailored to individual customers, in line with PETRONAS’ growing offerings,”
said Iskandar Ezzahuddin, Chief Executive Officer of Setel.
Deliver2Me is now available at six participating Petronas stations in the Klang Valley and will progressively roll out to all Setel-enabled stations nationwide starting the first quarter of next year.
Setel is available at over 900 Petronas stations nationwide and it is free on iOS and Android via the Apple Store, Google Play Store and Huawei AppGallery.
The presence of in-vehicle payment wallets in the Malaysian market is still in its infancy for the time being. However, a recent study by Juniper Research found that the value of in-vehicle payments is set to witness staggering growth from $543 million in 2020 to $86 billion in the next five years.

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Payments

BigPay Expands Into Singapore as It Gears up for South East Asia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 28, 2020
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BigPay, Air Asia Group’s fintech focused company, is now available in Singapore which is in line with the fintech’s expansion plan into other South East Asian markets by early 2021.
The fast-growing fintech is getting ready to make its mobile money app and prepaid Visa card available to all Singapore residents in the coming weeks. BigPay said that it received its licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate in Singapore early this year.
BigPay will make its two core features – payments and remittance – available in Singapore. Users will be able to open an account using their mobile phones and make payments at any local or international merchant. They will also be able to make free and instant money transfers to friends, split bills, manage work expenses and track their spending all in one integrated app.

In addition, Singapore users will be able to remit money quickly and at a competitive rate to 10 markets, namely: Malaysia, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Australia, with more to come.
Christopher Davison
“We quietly opened up our waiting list on the app earlier this year and already have 20,000 people ready to get early access. People are turning to digital financial services and the pandemic has accelerated the need for fair and transparent alternatives to traditional banking – which is exactly what BigPay stands for.”
said Christopher Davison, Co-Founder and CEO.
BigPay also plans to launch new business lines such as loans, insurance and wealth management in the coming months, as well as expand to other South East Asian markets in early 2021.

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Lending

Razer and Funding Societies Team up to Offer Merchants P2P Financing

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 29, 2020
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Razer Fintech and Funding Societies today jointly announced a partnership to offer short-term business financing to merchants under Razer Merchant Services (RMS).
According to their statement more than 20,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises in Malaysia first and subsequently across the region will be connected to Funding Societies’ financing solutions via Razer Merchant Services. They expect retailers, F&B vendors, and online sellers registered under the RMS platform to be among the first beneficiaries.
Eligible merchants will have access to quick and tailor-made short-term financing to help them meet common business operations needs such as cyclical cash flow gaps, urgent project expenses, unforeseen one-off expenses, and to overcome seasonal revenue fluctuations.

As part of the partnership, Funding Societies will also be introducing a new product, the micro-credit line, to eligible RMS merchants. Unlike its other business term financing products, the line facility enables SMEs to draw a short credit period (between 45 days to 90 days) anytime. The offering is set to be launched within the next coming weeks.
An Ernst & Young survey published in June detailed the impact of the pandemic and the Movement Control Order (MCO) on Malaysian businesses. It found that nearly half of the 670 surveyed SMEs urged the need for loan reliefs to cope with operations costs, while 84% of them highlighted the difficulty in their online communication and connectivity with customers and suppliers.
This alternative form of financing could come in handy for MSMEs in this current challenging climate.

Wong Kah Meng
Wong Kah Meng, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Funding Societies Malaysia, said,
“Our partnership with Razer Fintech will allow greater access to financing for the RMS merchants in obtaining collateral-free, short-term financing solution with the added benefits of quick and seamless online application experience – thus providing shorter turnaround time and minimum documentation requirement. As the region’s largest P2P financing platform, Funding Societies has been at the forefront of driving financing inclusion amongst the MSMEs across the region, and this partnership with Razer Fintech will greatly help to fulfil our mission to reach out to many more underserved and unserved MSMEs.”

Lee Li Meng
“Having worked very closely with our merchants, via our RMS network, we understand the challenges MSMEs face, especially so during these pandemic times. We found a great partner in Funding Societies with their capabilities of allowing financial access to small businesses in the region,”
said Lee Li Meng, Chief Executive Officer at Razer Fintech.
“With the combined ambition to supporting the needs of the underserved MSMEs, we look forward to growing together with Funding Societies in our bid for our respective digital banking licenses.”

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Crowdfunding

Securities Commission Says Regulated Crowdfunding Markets Raised RM1 Billion

									by Fintech News Malaysia
October 5, 2020
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The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced at its virtual SCxSC fintech conference that more than 2,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have raised more than RM1 billion through the regulated crowdfunding markets of the Malaysian capital market.
Since the introduction of the Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) and Peer-to-Peer Financing (P2P) regulatory framework in Malaysia in 2016, the SC has registered 21 platforms to provide regulated crowdfunding options to meet the financing needs of MSMEs. This development indicates that these platforms have attracted healthy interest from MSMEs and retail investors.
Earlier this year in April, SC had announced the liberalisation of the ECF limit to RM10 million from the previous limit of RM5 million.

Datuk Syed Zaid Albar
“The SC continues to encourage digital innovation and promotes inclusiveness of the capital market. We have seen considerable increase in individual investor participation in the market via digital investment managers (DIMs), ECF and P2P financing platforms, digital asset exchanges (DAXes) and online brokers. Over 80% of the investors in the crowdfunding markets are retail investors, with 60% of them under the age of 35 years old,”
said SC Chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar, during his welcome remarks at the virtual conference.
“However, we would like to remind investors to only invest in authorised capital market products and services. With the increasing number of online scams, investors should also be alert to avoid being deceived by scammers in their search for yield in this low interest rate environment,”
he added.
The SC has approved three crypto exchanges in 2019 with four digital assets permitted for trading. It is said that collectively, more than 400,000 accounts were opened, with the value of trades surpassing RM100 million in August this year.
The seven robo advisors registered with the SC continue to attract many first-time investors with close to 90,000 new accounts opened as of August this year, which has more than double the total number of accounts opened in the year of 2019.
Meanwhile, demand for online brokerage services has purportedly surged with a 270% jump of new account openings as of August 2020, as compared to last year, while average trading volume also tripled this year.
Now in its seventh year, SCxSC is the SC’s annual fintech conference for entrepreneurs, technology and digital innovators, industry and government representatives to discuss and explore fintech ideas and trends in the capital market.
This year’s edition of SCxSC is said to have attracted more than 5,000 virtually. Issues discussed at this year’s conference include examining how Malaysian fintech as an industry is weathering the pandemic, investment behaviors in turbulent times, responsible investing and fundraising, as well as crypto in Islamic finance.
The SCxSC2020 is taking place virtually from 5-7 October 2020, members of the public may visit their website for more information or to tune in to the livestream.

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Insurtech

Tune Protect Names AXA Affin Life’s Ex-CEO, Rohit Nambiar As Their New Group CEO

									by Fintech News Malaysia
October 13, 2020
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Tune Protect Group Berhad today announced the appointment of Rohit Chandrasekharan Nambiar as its Group Chief Executive Officer effective 14 October 2020. Rohit takes over the helm from Khoo Ai Lin who resigned on 31 July 2020.
In his new role, Rohit will be responsible for steering Tune Protect on its continuing journey of growth and digital transformation.
Ng Siek Chuan
Chairman of Tune Protect Group Berhad, Ng Siek Chuan said,

“We are proud that Rohit has joined as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company and to have him lead our operations across Malaysia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. With his track record of success spanning 17 years in the Insurance Industry, I am confident Rohit will help scale our business to a new level of growth and success. Rohit brings to the role not only invaluable insights, but a wealth of experience built up over an illustrious career.”
Rohit’s focus will be on strengthening the Company’s reach in the retail consumer space – driving innovation in product ideas and digital solutions, enhancing customer experience by focusing on ease and convenience, and growing the affinity, B2C and B2B2C distribution platforms leveraging big data and technology.
Rohit is no stranger to the Insurance Industry and joins us from AXA Affin Life Insurance Berhad where he was the CEO and had the overall responsibility for the strategic direction, management, and growth operations throughout the organisation.
Rohit Chandrasekharan Nambiar
Commenting on his appointment, Rohit said,
“I am excited to be taking on the role of Group Chief Executive Officer for Tune Protect and I look forward to working with our board, employees and all stakeholders concerned in driving and positioning the Company’s future as a preferred digital lifestyle insurer across South East Asian markets.”
Rohit began his career as an Analyst with AXA in India. He has experience working across various departments and has held senior positions in both local and regional capacities within Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and India.
In the past, Rohit has shared his views on various topics including innovation and responding to the pandemic with Fintech News Malaysia.

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WealthTech

Meet Akru, Malaysia’s Newest Robo-Advisor

									by Vincent Fong
October 20, 2020
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Years ago before my job with the Fintech News Network, I would drive my lifeless body to work at the crack of dawn to my office in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. During this dreaded daily commute, the local business radio station BFM was always a trusty companion, and Julian Ng who was then a radio presenter at BFM always felt like a reliable source of information on markets, investments, and anything finance related.
When he left his job at BFM several years back, I was introduced to him through a mutual friend. Julian shared that he was looking to secure a license from the Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia to operate a robo-advisory firm and that was before any licenses were issued by the regulator.
Those who are familiar with me know that I’m always rooting for homegrown fintech startups, and I was naturally excited to see what Julian would do in this space. He shared that prior to his role in BFM, circa 2012, he was a fund manager. He realized that it was really hard to beat the market and in trying to do so, they normally generate a huge cost footprint. It was during that time that he observed robo-advisors starting to emerge in the US market. Even during his time as a presenter with BFM, Julian jested that he was already harboring ambitions of setting up his own robo-advisor.

In 2017, when SC issued the guidelines for robo-advisors, Julian met his co-founder Tan Chong Liong at a fintech event, they then decided to pursue the license and Akru was born. Chong Liong, is a regular fixture of the fintech community and a founding committee member of the Fintech Association of Malaysia, and serves as non-executive director for an insurance company and a local VC firm.
Fast forward a few years, we have several robo-advisors like StashAway, MyTHEO, and Wahed Invest operating in Malaysia, and Julian alongside his co-founder finally managed to secure the license for Akru to provide services to Malaysians.

The journey was very challenging, Julian said, pointing out that the application process involved one general election, one government change, and a global pandemic. Unlike its competitors who are backed by either large corporates or already have a track record overseas, Akru had to undergo the challenge of convincing seed investors in a startup that neither had any track record nor the license to operate.
He was grateful that the early seed investors gave them a vote of confidence by investing in Akru, which enabled them to meet the capital requirements set out by the SC. During this entire process, he spoke positively about how the regulator was always sharing their views with the team openly and guided them in the right direction during their numerous consultation sessions.
Julian said that his vision is for Akru to be “private banker” for ordinary folks and provide them data to make financial decisions easily without any hassle or stress, a service most of us will never be wealthy enough to receive. He said that the firm will adopt a goal-based approach to help consumers invest their money, with an aim to bring financial clarity to people.
This of course will be no easy feat seeing as how Akru is not the only game in town, and their competitors have gained quite a bit ground in securing early adopters with high propensity for digital wealth products, not to mention that their competitors are more well-funded in comparison.
However, Julian is of the view that the market is large enough to support a handful of robo-advisors, adding that he is confident that this new way of investing will be able to get a slice of the unit trust market and uninvested monies in Malaysians’ savings accounts. He is of the view that robo-advisors are in competition with the old guards, and not each other.
Akru for now, is only available as a web-based service, compared to its other competitors who are all app-based. Julian recognises that there is demand and even a preference for many consumers to manage their wealth via an app, but given the small funding that they are working with, they’ve decided to conserve funds by creating a MVP (minimum viable product). Akru will first offer their services via the web before moving on to develop an app when they are in a position to raise more funds at a later stage.
Incidentally, Akru is currently raising funds through equity crowdfunding platform, LEET Capital and Julian was also recently featured on Mr. Stingy’s new talk show talking about the journey of Akru, you can check out the video here.

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WealthTech

Rakuten Trade Appoints Kazumasa Mise as Its New Chief Executive Officer

									by Fintech News Malaysia
October 19, 2020
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Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd (Rakuten Trade) announced the appointment of Mr Kazumasa Mise as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective 16 October 2020, following approval from Securities Commission Malaysia.
Mise replaces Mr Kaoru Arai, who was the Managing Director of Rakuten Trade since its launch in May 2017. Arai was responsible for the company being named Fintech Company of the Year in 2018 and for steering the company in achieving profitability in less than three years. Arai will be assuming the role of Director of International Business and will lead Rakuten Trade’s efforts in its regional expansion.
Rakuten Trade is a joint venture between Rakuten Securities, Inc. (RSec) in Japan and Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, and the only completely digital equities broker in Malaysia.

Mise relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 2017 and according to their statement, he played a fundamental role in the establishment of Rakuten Trade together with Arai. He was previously Rakuten Trade’s Head of Business Marketing before becoming its Chief Marketing Officer.
Prior to Rakuten Trade, he was with RSec for 13 years where he honed his expertise in Japanese equities’ business, focusing on boosting margin trading and exchange-traded fund (ETF). He holds a Bachelor of Science (Finance and Economics) from the Syracuse University, New York, USA.

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E-Wallets
Payments

Merchantrade Inks Deal With Ant Group to Offer Remittance Services to Alipay Users

									by Fintech News Malaysia
October 20, 2020
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Merchantrade, a digital money services business operator and e-money issuer, has entered into a partnership with Alibaba’s Ant Group.
The collaboration allows customers of Merchantrade in Malaysia and Singapore to facilitate real-time remittances to Alipay users in China, with funds reaching bank accounts linked to their Alipay app. Alipay is operated by Ant Group and is said to currently serve more than one billion users.
The service is now available at Merchantrade’s 81 branches and over 450 of its agent locations in Malaysia. It is also available on Merchantrade’s remittance mobile app, eRemit Malaysia and soon will be available on its e-wallet, Merchantrade Money as well as at its Singapore-based subsidiary, Kliq Pte Ltd, on its eRemit Singapore mobile app.

The partnership aims to bring more innovative and convenient financial services to Merchantrade’s customers in Malaysia and Singapore. It will also expand to allow Merchantrade customers to remit funds to persons in the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, through Ant Group’s partners in these markets.
Ramasamy K.Veeran
“As a leading MSB operator and international remittance hub provider, we continuously explore new ways to apply our technology and connect with partners to make financial services more inclusive, especially for the underserved globally, particularly in Asia, where we have a foothold in the remittance market through local partners,”
said Ramasamy, Founder and Managing Director of Merchantrade Asia.
Recently, Merchantrade made headlines when news of the company acquiring Valyou from the Norwegian Telenor Group broke out.

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Payments
Various

GHL Unveils Financial Supermarket Ambitions with GROW

									by Vincent Fong
October 27, 2020
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Payments firm GHL has been gradually shedding from its pure payment play in a series of announcements it has made recently on new services and partnerships. In the 2nd quarter of 2020,  they secured a lending license in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The company has also been seen making partnerships with Axiata to offer micro-lending services and with an Austalian fintech startup named Splitit to offer buy now, pay later services to its online merchants.
Just yesterday the company revealed that all these new services that are targeted at MSMEs and the self-employed will be housed under “GROW by GHL”. The services under this umbrella include, micro-lending and micro-insurance with micro-wealth products being in the pipeline. Their micro-lending products lends up to RM 100,000 with zero early settlement charges, while on the micro-insurance front they are offering a range of personal and general insurance products made available through a partnership with insurtech startup, Senang.
Speaking to Fintech News Malaysia, its Group CEO, Danny Leong maintains that the company remains focused on payments, he said that the introduction of these new services are intended as a strategy for them to retain and maintain merchants. He further adds that this will enable them to avoid competing solely on pricing but with added value services.

These services are viewed as synergistic by the company as the merchants already require services like short-term lending and insurance coverage and with existing working relationship and data on their merchant’s daily transaction value, which will help merchants to save considerable time in speeding up the eKYC or eKYB process, Danny adds.
Companies in this space like Axiata and BigPay who’s rolled out similar services have voiced ambitions to pursue a virtual banking license in Malaysia once the framework is established. When asked whether they have any ambition in this space, Danny said that GHL is unlikely to bid for a license on their own but is open to partnering with interested parties and that they see themselves as a part of a consortium while focusing on the core payments strength.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

Securities Commission Malaysia’s IEO Guidelines Comes into Force Today

									by Fintech News Malaysia
October 28, 2020
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The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has revised its Guidelines on Digital Assets (Guidelines), which came into force today to regulate Initial Exchange Offerings (IEO) and Digital Asset Custodians (DAC).
SC said that the Guidelines will facilitate the SC’s objectives in promoting responsible innovation in the digital asset space, while at the same time managing emerging risks and safeguarding the interests of issuers and investors.
Earlier in January 2020, the SC had announced a framework to enable companies to raise funds via the issuance of digital tokens in Malaysia through an IEO platform registered by the SC. Under the Guidelines, IEO platform operators will be required to assess and conduct the necessary due diligence on the issuer, review the issuer’s proposal and the disclosures in the whitepaper, and assess the issuer’s ability to comply with the requirements of the Guidelines and the SC’s Guidelines on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.

With the issuance of the revised Guidelines today, interested parties who wish to register as an IEO platform operator or DAC can start submitting their applications to the SC. The deadline for applications to be registered as an IEO platform operator is 15 February 2021.
Equity crowdfunding platform operator pitchIN has previously revealed that it is keen to secure the necessary regulator approval from SC to operate an IEO platform.
SC reiterated in its press statement that members of the public that they are not permitted to offer, issue or distribute any digital assets in Malaysia without obtaining a registration or authorisation from the SC.
Any person found to be operating a digital exchange or offering or distributing any digital assets without the SC’s authorisation commits an offence and may be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding ten million ringgit or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or both.
The full version of the Guidelines and more information on application as IEO platform operator or DAC can be found here.

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Malaysia
WealthTech

Financial Literacy Remains a Major Challenge in Malaysia Despite Rapid Wealthtech Adoption

									by Fintech News Malaysia
November 2, 2020
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In Malaysia, adoption of wealthtech and alternative asset classes has increased over the past year, but in order for the sector to reach its full potential, there’s a need to raise financial literacy levels, experts said.
In a virtual panel discussion hosted by Fintech News Malaysia earlier this month, senior executives from Kenanga Investment Bank, Funding Societies, pitchIN and Luno discussed the state of wealthtech in Malaysia, arguing that while consumers are growing accustomed to investing in equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending or even cryptocurrencies, financial illiteracy remained a major challenge, and perhaps the biggest one for the wealthtech industry right now.

Chan Ken Yew
Chan Ken Yew, Head of Quant and AI Trading, Kenanga Bank commenting on the state of financial literacy said that
“Industry players have been doing their part in training and offering investment seminars to public investors. However, in order to enhance financial literacy, investor education and awareness needs to be there as this is a major factor in encouraging more participants.“

“Education is paramount and the major challenge for us,”
Sam Shafie, CEO and co-founder pitchIN, the largest equity crowdfunding platform in Malaysia, said during the panel discussion.
“While there is a lot of innovation going on, I think there’s also a lot of lackings to be filled. I think any startup focusing on financial literacy is very sexy. There’s a need for it. If [financial illiteracy] is not addressed, I’m afraid us as an industry will not be able to grow as big and as fast as we would like to.”
Financial literacy refers to the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting and investing, to make financially responsible decisions. Financial literacy includes understanding how a checking account works, what using a credit card really entails, how to avoid debt, as well as managing financial risks effectively and avoiding financial pitfalls.
In Malaysia, financial literacy is still very low, and the National Strategy for Financial Literacy was launched in July 2019 to address just that. According to the Financial Capability and Inclusion Demand survey conducted in 2018, 1 in 3 Malaysians rate themselves to be of low financial knowledge, and 3 in 10 of working adults need to borrow money to buy essential goods. Moreover, 52% do not have sufficient emergency funds set aside to cope with unexpected events, and almost half of Malaysians are not confident of having an adequate stream of income for retirement.
Current State of Financial Literacy in Malaysia
Echoing with the statements made by pitchIN’s Shafie, Wong Kah Meng, CEO of Funding Societies, said that improving financial literacy is more important than ever today as technology and fintechs are making the financial landscape ever so complex, introducing new ways of investing and new asset classes.

“Financial education and awareness is very important especially for new investment products with new characteristics,”
Kah Meng said.
“Investors cannot look at these products like they look at fixed deposit instruments. A lot of education, awareness, but also disclosure need to happen.”
This is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed, the experts said, adding that the financial industry will continue to embrace technology. While technology promises to bring new investment opportunities to the masses, these new propositions are also introducing new risks that are often not well understood by the average consumer.

Malaysia’s wealthtech industry in 2020
Looking back at the wealthtech industry this year, Shafie said that despite COVID-19, 2020 has been, overall, a good year for equity crowdfunding (ECF).
“In 2020, from a fundraising, equity crowdfunding platform operator’s perspective, we’ve seen a boom, not just on pitchIN, but also across the board. We’ve seen other ECF platforms raise more money than they did in 2019 and before that,”
Sam Shafie said.
“In the last few deals, we’ve also seen … more traditional companies coming onboard to pitchIN to raise funding, probably due to the effort we’ve put in education and awareness. So it’s been quite positive.”
2020 also saw the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) lift limits on ECF platforms and allow both ECF and P2P lending platforms to operationalize secondary trading, a positive news for the industry, Sam Shafie added.
He added that pitchIN was currently awaiting regulatory approval and was hoping to be able to launch its secondary market in Q1 2021.
In P2P lending, Funding Societies’ Kah Meng said the platform saw a significant pullback in investment appetite in Q2 2020 as investors shifted to riding the stock market’s volatility. That being said, levels “have recovered almost to pre-COVID-19 levels,” he said.
Kah Meng said that while Funding Societies has managed to gain a foothold in the Malaysian market, there is still place for growth.
The majority of investors on our platform are retail and are below the age of mid-30s, so the younger generation, metropolitan crowd,”
Kah Meng said.
“We are still scratching the surface in terms of adoption as a mainstream digital investment platform, rather than an alternative [investment platform]. Our goal is to reach the other population.”
Both Kah Meng and Sam, concurred that the ECF and P2P lending market will likely see some consolidation in 2021 as players seek more market efficiency and synergy through mergers and acqusitions.
Meanwhile in the crypto space, exchange platform Luno saw a surge in trading activity and “huge movements in the Bitcoin price” during the pandemic. Aaron Tang, country manager of Luno, said when markets crashed in February-March, people began turning to Bitcoin as a hedge against traditional investments.

“2020 has been a recognition of people getting comfortable with crypto and most particularly bitcoin as an investment,”
Aaron said.
“That’s the trend we’ve seen in 2020: the coming of age of Bitcoin as an asset class.”
2020 surely was an interesting year for wealthtech in Malaysia and 2021 promises to see greater adoption of technology in the space. Chan Ken Yew, said that while adoption of AI in trading was still at a very early stage, it will eventually take off, he said,
“AI will support financial institutions and fintechs’ business needs. The low hanging fruit will be automating processes … but also big data, analytics, as well as [better] engaging with customers.”
“This new age of investment and wealth will be definitely tech-driven, From account opening to transactions … financial advisors will also be tech-driven as well. With fintech, investors can expect more products, more markets, assets classes, to be offered.”

The full video can be found below, if you enjoyed this content do consider subsribing to our YouTube channel, Fintech Fireside Asia for more.

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Payments

Caltex Now Offers ShopeePay as a Contactless Payment Option

									by Fintech News Malaysia
November 9, 2020
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Chevron Malaysia Limited, which markets the brand Caltex, announced its partnership with Shopee to enable contactless payments via the e-commerce platform’s mobile wallet, ShopeePay at more than 420 Caltex service stations nationwide.
This partnership will allow customers to transact using ShopeePay when they fuel up or purchase items at participating Caltex service stations.
Caltex is reportedly the first fuel provider in Malaysia to offer ShopeePay. This alternative payment option at Caltex aims to bring convenience and security for motorists as a secure mode of payment.

Jay Gomez, Country Chairman for Chevron Malaysia said that this partnership is in line with “the growing adoption of contactless payments in the country”.
Alain Yee, Head of ShopeePay said,
Alain Yee
“The collaboration with Caltex marks ShopeePay’s first partnership with a petrol company. Our effort to support the retail industry with ShopeePay is in response to consumers’ changing behaviour as Malaysians opt for contactless payments amid the Covid- 19 pandemic.

Being able to use ShopeePay with offline merchants provides greater convenience to Malaysians as they can do all their shopping and payments online and offline via a single app, making their experience more seamless. Through this partnership with Caltex, ShopeePay users will be able to fuel up for their journey wherever they go.”
In celebration of this partnership, users will be rewarded with RM4 cashback when they spend at least RM40 and pay with ShopeePay at any Caltex stations until 31 December 2020.
Each ShopeePay user is entitled to receive up to three cashbacks throughout the campaign period, or until it is fully redeemed, whichever comes first.
Featured Image: Chevron

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

China Construction Bank to Raise US$ 3 Billion Blockchain Bond via Its Labuan Branch

									by Fintech News Malaysia
November 12, 2020
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China Construction Bank’s Labuan branch (CCB Labuan) has partnered with digital asset exchange firm Fusang to raise a US$ 3 billion bond on the blockchain.
The bond will be issued by Longbond Ltd. a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up with the sole purpose of issuing digital bonds and depositing the proceeds to with CCB Labuan. The bank will be acting as the lead arranger and listing sponsor for this deal.
This “Longbond” represents the first digital security to be listed on a public stock exchange that is directly accessible by retail investors, according to their media statement. This move is welcome by the Labuan Financial Services Authority, its Director-General, Datuk Daniel Mah Abdullah said that they encourage these efforts to generate a more vibrant market.

With this digital bond, both retail and sophisticated investors globally will have direct access through the Fusang Exchange with investment amounts of as little as USD 100. Investors will also be able to trade directly in/out of the bond using BTC.
Henry Chong, CEO Fusang Exchange said that this partnership is the perfect showcase for how digital securities can “power financial inclusion” by combining “exciting advancements in blockchain technology with tokenisation of traditional securities.

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Crowdfunding

pitchIN Exceeds RM 100 Million in a New Milestone for Equity Crowdfunding

									by Fintech News Malaysia
November 12, 2020
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pitchIN hit a new equity crowdfunding milestone today when it recorded RM100 million funds raised for companies this week. This figure was reached by successfully hosting 74 companies who raised capital from nearly 5000 investors since 2016. pitchIN is the first Malaysian ECF platform to reach this milestone. To date, the ECF industry in Malaysia, which consists of 10 operators, is estimated to have raised around RM175 million in total.
pitchIN CEO Sam Shafie says momentum is increasing. Nearly half of the RM100 million was raised in 2020,
Sam Shafie
“It was a record breaking year at pitchIN. We achieved our entire year’s targets with one fiscal quarter to spare. With 7 weeks to go till the end of the year, pitchIN has raised over RM48 million for 31 companies.
He added that this figure, reached under the shadow of an ongoing pandemic, is a ringing endorsement of the qualities of deals that are hosted on pitchIN.

“pitchIN has built a name for hosting great fast-growing companies. When the pandemic hit, we were as concerned as anyone else about the safety and wellbeing of Malaysians. However, it was clear to us that the disruption caused by the pandemic was bringing about a seachange in the economy. Companies that were digital, nimble and operating in fast growing tech-focussed sectors underwent sharply improved fortunes and these were exactly the companies that pitchIN hosts on its platform”
There were still challenges to be overcome. Over the years, pitchiN had been organising physical roadshow events to back the digital marketing it carried out for every deal. The MCO put a stop to these events. The pitchIN team strategized and moved all their marketing efforts online. Investors stayed loyal and the deals continued to happen. Sam says, “We embraced the digital proposition and investors continued to back our deals. In fact, going fully online has enabled us to reach more people in more corners of Malaysia.”
Kashminder Singh
Kashminder Singh, Chief Strategy Officer added,
“The revisions to the ECF guidelines made by SC early in the year where deals up to RM10 million were allowed on platforms as well as the government MyCIF co-investment fund also contributed to pitchIN’s success. Our deal sizes have grown and 1-for-2 matching investment by MyCIF has enabled more companies to reach their funding targets.”
He added,
“Going forward, we expect ECF will continue to grow in popularity. The tax rebate announced for ECF investments in the 2021 budget will attract even more investors to look at ECF deals. The upcoming secondary market by pitchIN will be another impetus for the industry.”
Sam Shafie is also expecting developments in the wider digital investments industry to increase awareness.
“The recently announced opening of applications for Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) and Digital Assets Custodian (DAC) licenses will be further confirmation that the digital investments fintech industry is becoming mainstream. pitchIN intends to apply for the new licenses so that we can offer more products and services to our investor network.”

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