Blockchain/Bitcoin
WealthTech

HelloGold Launches Their Gold-Based Savings App in Thailand

									by Vincent Fong
June 6, 2019
0 comments

HelloGold, a gold-based savings platform, announced yesterday its expansion into the Thailand market. This news comes on the heels of their recent expansion in to Africa.
Similar to its rallying call in Malaysia of investing into gold with as little as RM 1, HelloGold’s aim is to also make gold savings accessible to middle and lower income groups in Thailand with savings amount as low as 10 Baht.
For its first year in Thailand, the startup is targeting to 120,000 downloads and they intend to use their partnership with local retailer Central Group to help achieve that. Through this partnership members of the retailer’s branded card will be able to redeem gold from HelloGold using their loyalty points.

Robin Lee, Chief Executive Officer of HelloGold said,
“With the use of innovative technology, the HelloGold platform empowers the underserved and the unbanked segments by giving them access to gold and other affordable, essential financial products.

Robin further added that the average Thai saves no more than 13% of his or her income, in this space he sees tremendous opportunity to use HelloGold to provide an alternative method for Thai’s to be able to save.
He shares that HelloGold is a great product fit for the Thai market given that gold has historically been an integral part of Thai culture.

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Insurtech

PolicyStreet Secures Approval from Bank Negara to Conduct Financial Advisory

									by Fintech News Malaysia
June 10, 2019
1 comment

PolicyStreet announced today that it has obtained approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to conduct financial advisory.
With this approval, PolicyStreet can source, aggregate, compare, customise and finally advise consumers and businesses on the best insurance products that meet their needs.
According to its press release, it has at its disposal the ability to work directly with all 47 life and general insurance and takaful providers in Malaysia.

PolicyStreet’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Yen Ming commented.
“We often find that insurance providers tend to have many competing products that cater to different segments of customers. For example, Insurer A might offer a life product suited for customers above 40 years old and insurer B on the other hand offers a more compelling life product for the younger customers aged below 30 years old.
Aggregation will not enable us to advise the right products to different target customers but FA will. We want to advise customers without prejudice and we will marry technology and innovation to remove ‘fats’ in the ecosystem by driving transparency and simplicity in insurance.”
Yen Ming also added that PolicyStreet initially intended to to apply for the sandbox to trial for aggregation of insurance products but opted for the Financial Advisory approval instead when they discovered that they are able to meet the requirements.
There were three companies approved to experiment with insurance aggregation in Bank Negara Malaysia’s sandbox, among the three, GetCover is listed as “ceased operations”.
In just over 2 years of operations, PolicyStreet claims that it has underwritten over MYR400 million in sum assured and sold more than 10,000 policies.
It claims that it has also worked with more than 100 companies, organizations and groups in curating products to identify business pain points and curate products to enhance their business models.
To name a few, PolicyStreet has collaborated with the leading mobile food delivery marketplace Foodpanda, proptech HostelHunting, co-working space Co-labs of the Paramount Group, women-focused ride-hailing app RidingPink, traveltech Adventoro, Commerce.Asia and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
It has also raised US$500,000 in seed funding from KK Fund, an ASEAN-based Venture Capitalist and was a recipient of a government grant from Cradle Fund.

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WealthTech

Bursa Just Launched a Mobile App for Investors That Would Like to Manage Their Stocks Around The Clock

									by Fintech News Malaysia
June 13, 2019
1 comment

Bursa Malaysia, the country’s national stock exchange incorporated in 1976, just launched Bursa Anywhere, a mobile app for individual investors to access a variety of central depository services (CDS) on the fly.
Bursa claims that theirs is one of the pioneering mobile depository services in Asia, second only to Taiwan.
In Bursa, CDS is the digital representation of ownership and movement of securities. CDS account holders can obtain electronic securities transfer and trade settlement.

The Bursa Anywhere app was designed to cater to the increasing demand for round-the-clock mobile access, and will also provide access to information, movements and trends. Envisioned as the future go-to platform for CDS accounts moving forward, the idea is to provide a more seamless experience, and more individual control.
Image Credit: Bursa Anywehre
Bursa aims to continue developing their digital touch points, which hints at more mobile-forward offerings in the future—it’s the most obvious way to connect with customers after all.
Those registered with Bursa Anywhere can view the balance shareholdings in all their direct CDS accounts with marked to market value, view and download statement of accounts going back 12 months, update specified depositors’ particulars, and get notifications about their shareholdings.
Bursa Malaysia is a step in the right direction, but to us, it seems too little too late in a fintech ecosystem that is already graduated to discussions of robo-advisors; artificial intelligence leveraging data to make investment decisions for even the most stock-blind of the populace featuring adjustable risk percentages. The Singapore-headquartered Stashaway, a robo-advisory platform, is currently operational in the Malaysian market.
With that being said, many existing investors with Bursa stakes and the know-how in investing will probably still appreciate having the convenience of the app, and they are an existing user base whose convenience are rightly on the minds of Bursa Malaysia.
There is also a possibility that Bursa Malaysia already has a robo-advisory platform in development, as part of the aforementioned vague reference to “develop(ing) their digital touch points”.
Bursa Anywhere is available on both Google Play and iOS Store.
Featured image via Bursa Malaysia

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Digital Transformation

UOB’s New Programme Aims to Drive Digital Adoption Among Malaysian SMEs

									by Vincent Fong
June 13, 2019
2 comments

UOB Malaysia announced today, the launch of Jom Transform, a programme aimed at helping SMEs adopt digital technology to drive productivity and growth.
The Jom Transform programme is run by The Finlab, an innovation accelerator under UOB, which first launched its business transformation programme in Singapore in 2018. A similar programme was also launched in Thailand late last year.
During its initial inception in 2016, Finlab was primarily geared towards accelerating fintech startups. The programme helped shape familiar names like HelloGold and Turnkey Lender who recently expanded into the Malaysian market.

The Jom Transform Programme is 3 months long, participating businesses will attend a series of workshops conducted by industry experts to gain the necessary skills and know-how in specific areas of digital transformation such as business process re-engineering and digital marketing.
They will also be matched with specially-chosen technology partners to pilot relevant solutions and to receive guidance to assess the effectiveness of these solutions.

(L-R) Pauline Sim, Co-Head, The Finlab, Yap Kok Tee, Country Head, Channels & Digitalisation
Pauline Sim, who is the Co-Head of the programme emphasised that the programme is not intended to serve as a “supermarket for tech solutions” instead it is geared towards helping SMEs shape their business models and adopt the right digital tools.
When asked what is the end goal of such a programme, Yap Kok Tee, Country Head, Channels & Digitalisation responded that the programme was born out of the need for banks to evolve beyond the simple role of just providing financing. He stressed that in a new digital world, banks need to play active role in helping their clients grow.
This business transformation programme by UOB will be supported by ecosystem players like MDEC, SME Corp, MATTA, Maxis and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor.

Those interested to learn more about the programme are invited to register for their kick off event on the 21st June 2019 at Publika Solaris Dutamas, held in conjunction with Malaysia Tech Week
Fintech News Malaysia will be present to moderate the panel sessions.

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E-Wallets
Payments

Here are 5 of The Best E-Wallets in Malaysia (in My Opinion)

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 8, 2019
3 comments

You may remember me as the person who complained about e-wallets last year, and later, complaining again about Malaysia’s drive towards cashlessness, which will probably be emboldened by—you guessed it—e-wallets.
Do I generally have a skeptical eye on this still trendy bandwagon? Perhaps. After all, this survey conducted by Nielsen shows that usage is still low here due to perception of low security (50%), concern towards overspending (34%) and low merchant acceptance (27%); the latter which should have had a higher percentage in my opinion.
Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) ICTF should be active by now, supported by PayNet’s Real-Time Retail Payments (RPP) system.

I am however also an average Malaysian, living in [redacted Klang Valley area] with tonnes of e-wallet touch points, and a frequent online shopper.
So trust me when I say that these complaints come from a place of experience. On the flipside, this also means that I’ve developed my own preferences when using e-wallets, and I have a theory about who will stand to survive the pre-consolidation money burning phase we’re in right now.
The following are my selections for the best Malaysian e-wallets in Malaysia
Boost
Image Credit: Boost
The Axiata-owned e-wallet has certainly done many things right. The shake for reward feature was a stroke of genius that really hit the gamification sweet spot.
These days, rumours are rife that Boost does not grant the rewards that they used to anymore, which hints to me that they’ve hit their milestones for user acquisition, and are now focusing their energies on other avenues.
Boost integrates with some of my often used online shopping platforms, allows for bill splitting (though only with other “Boosties”), and I personally like that it integrates with Fave for discounts.
Most crucially though, Boost is probably the most present e-wallet in many Klang Valley areas, and practically synonymous with e-wallets here, which is a branding success in its own right.
Besides gamification, I think Boost’s secret is also its rapid-fire promotions, and high rates of adoption by a large number of merchants at a relatively fast pace.
Being quick to the draw may have led to some initial growing pains with merchants confused about how to make it work, but I have to admit that the initial focus on volume bore fruit for them.
They’ve managed to achieve high adoptions, the challenge for them now is retention, and something like Boost Missions and the digital Ang Pao service are some of their efforts towards that. However, this is the tricky pony that may cause them to slip. This viral theft case, for example, may scare existing users away.
GrabPay
Image Credit: Grab
I’m going to be honest, I’m only placing GrabPay here because I genuinely cherish GrabFood, a service that allows me to get a bubble tea or a nice hot meal impulsively, without worrying about minimum orders. So between my frequent use of that and my work-fueled Grab trips, I’m getting a lot of points that I can exchange for cheaper meals or rides.
I often scoff at Grab’s insistence that they’re running a “super app” but I can’t deny that the value in GrabPay for me, is its digital ecosystem. In that vein, I am optimistic about Grab’s drive to integrate financial services into its GrabPay ecosystem, like insurance and personal financing.
I’m still not too inclined to use GrabPay when I’m shopping online or at the cashier counter, but if get into the habit, Grab becomes a strong contender for me already.
Touch ‘n Go Wallet
Image via screenshot of a YouTube video by 0
You know this, and I know this. I’m only putting the TNG Wallet here because of MyRFID. As a modern [redacted Klang Valley area]-ian, I frequently find myself travelling back and forth between different areas, so I use RFID frequently. If you add on the ability to use the same wallet during public transport, then that places TNG Wallet in a really strong position already. Again, it’s about integration here. TNG becomes enticing because it’s the doorway for a service that I need.
But what about non-toll gate uses?
This is definitely one of TNG’s biggest downfalls, and a point of concern that’s been rightly raised by Malaysians for the longest time. TNG had all of the building blocks for Malaysia’s big cashless disruptor: they just didn’t quite execute.
To their credit, they’re attempting to make up for lost time in 2019. TNG Wallet signboards have been mushrooming in my area, and more services are being introduced. One of TNG Wallet’s latest moves is the announcement of money-back-guarantee (basically the credit card function that enables you to cancel transactions).
Since most e-wallet transactions are made for smaller ticket items, a money-back-guarantee may help it finally break the barrier that holds people back from using their e-wallets for bigger transactions.
So where I see the appeal of GrabPay for online purchases, I’m starting to see TNG’s stronger potential on the physical side. Now, they simply need to make up for their past mistake and execute on their new potential.
BigPay

BigPay has three big things going for it. One, it launched on day one with a Mastercard-enabled card. Secondly, going overseas with it makes spending on goods and services much cheaper.
Not only is it practically free to use BigPay’s Mastercard function, a savvy user taught me that it’s cheaper to fly to a different country and withdraw money using the balance on BigPay than it is to use typical money exchanges. This way, I can still benefit off BigPay even if I’m in a primarily cash-based country.
But that’s also because I travel quite frequently, so I can actually utilise some of its strongest selling points.
Thirdly, and one I think that other wallets should’ve been doing already: BigPay offers me a breakdown of my spending habits as pictured above. So during periods where my budget is a little tight, or if you, like me, want to know exactly your money goes and when, then BigPay is able to offer a solution.
This way, its appeal is more than just services and rewards. It’s the basics of financial literacy. Now, if more Malaysian stores allowed me to use my card for transactions less than RM50 that would be great.
Sadly, BigPay has been rather quiet on the promotions front, so I do hope that the product will see continuous push and more marketing and promotions, because there’s definitely room for BigPay to grow from a travel e-wallet with a card to a local contender.
Razer Pay

So I’m mostly putting Razer Pay here because while the platform is pretty bare-bones now, I see a lot of potential. They’ve definitely got the merchants in Bangsar South down with their e-wallet, and you’ll see their signboards everywhere.
They’ve got plans to integrate their e-wallet with parking in Bangsar South, but a quick survey of individuals working there show that they are not quite implemented yet.
Razer is now working with Visa to ensure that the wallet will be usable anywhere there is a Visa terminal, which would open up usage. Razer has set up its fintech development headquarters in the same Bangsar South area, and based on the rumour mill, they’ve definitely hired some interestingly seasoned people to work there who add a measure of credibility to the platform.
Razer Pay is often seen an e-wallet that will only appeal to its existing base of gamers, and to a certain extent right now, that’s true. But I think they can be a lot more.
Setel (by Petronas)
Image Credit: Setel
Setel is essentially a loyalty programme for car fuel, a very appealing offering that complements TNG Wallet’s MyRFID’s capability.
The app is designed to integrate directly with fuel pumps, and allows me to make cashless fuel purchases without being subjected to the dreaded RM200 hold on my card. As a woman, I’m also able to do this without leaving the car, as long as the Petronas I’m patronising has attendees on the ready to help me.
To top things off, I know exactly how much I’ve spent on fuel, and I can get a 10% cashback as long as I fill up my gas to a full tank for each pit stop at a Petronas. Now, I’m just waiting for Setel to be available in more gas stations, so that my Setel experience is basically ubiquitous with Petronas.

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Payments

TransferWise Secures Remittance License in Malaysia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
June 17, 2019
2 comments

TransferWise has successfully obtained a remittance license from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
With this license, TransferWise will launch remittances from Malaysia in 2019. Prior to the license TransferWise customers can send money to Malaysia, but not from. With the launch of this license, TransferWise customers will soon be able to move money from Malaysia to 71 countries at current market exchange rates
The license allows TransferWise customers in Malaysia access to the eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) checks, instead of having to fulfill KYC requirements face to face. That means customers can open an account by submitting documents online via the TransferWise app or website instead of a physical branch.

Launched in 2011 and headquartered in London, TransferWise aims to make international money transfers instant, convenient, transparent and eventually free. Globally, it handles £4b (S$7b) in cross-border transfers every month for its 5 million customers.
In the UK, it is reportedly the second biggest player, with a market share of 15%. At the last investment round in May 2019, TransferWise was valued by investors at US$3.5b (S$4.8b).
TransferWise now sends money from 43 countries, of which 3 are in Asia; namely Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong. Malaysia will be the fourth.
In the past year, the top 5 sources of remittances to Malaysia by TransferWise customers were (by volume, from highest): Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States and the Eurozone.
Featured image credit: Pexels

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Payments

MoneyMatch Announced As First To Graduate BNM’s Sandbox at MyFintechWeek

									by Vincent Fong
June 18, 2019
2 comments

It’s official, MoneyMatch is now the first to graduate Bank Negara Malaysia’s regulatory sandbox. This was announced during a session titled “Thinking Inside the Sandbox” at MyFintech Week 2019 jointly organised by Bank Negara Malaysia and MDEC.
This announcement follows the news of MoneyMatch’s approval in principle for a class-b remittance license just last April. Concurrent with the graduation, MoneyMatch also received full approval from the regulator to conduct their remittance business
Speaking at the event, Adrian shared that MoneyMatch entered the sandbox with the mentality of a regulated entity and hired an experienced compliance team. He added that it’s just good practice for startups to have.

Its co-founder, Naysan, added that startups entering the sandbox shouldn’t center their business around the fact that they are in the sandbox, users do not automatically trust a company just because they are in the sandbox, he stressed the need for startups to work towards building trust within the user base.
Moving forward, MoneyMatch is looking at expanding to 5 countries by early next year. To date they have already received license to operate in Australia and are part of the Brunei’s fintech sandbox.
Naysan has also hinted at new product offerings that are in line with digital banking which will revealed once they raised their Series A round.

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Insurtech

Insurance Comparison Sites Will Soon Be Regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia

									by Fintech News Malaysia
June 21, 2019
2 comments

Insurance and takaful aggregation business will be regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia as a new category of registered business under the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA).
According to Bank Negara Malaysia’s press statement, once this comes into effect insurance and takaful aggregators will be required to registered under the Financial Services Act to carry on their business.
It further states that this includes companies under the fintech regulatory sandbox. Currently, Jinerxu (RinggitPlus) and GoBear are listed under insurance aggregation category in BNM’s sandbox.

The central bank is currently seeking industry comment for its exposure draft which can be found here. In the exposure draft, aggregators are defined as digital platforms that carries out the activity of sourcing, aggregating, comparing, and lead referral or facilitating the sale of insurance/takaful product.
A first read-through of the exposure draft seem to indicate that the spirit behind the draft is geared towards providing consumer protection and transparency.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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E-Wallets
Payments

Razer Pay Will Be Launching Visa-Powered Prepaid Cards to Accompany its E-Wallet

									by Fintech News Malaysia
June 24, 2019
1 comment

Razer, the gaming equipment brand turned mobile wallet has announced a partnership with Visa with the hopes of “transforming payments in the gaming industry”—specifically by incorporating Visa’s scale and reach to the Razer Pay e-wallet.
Basically, Razer’s fintech arm, aptly named Razer Fintech, will be joining Visa’s fintech fast-track program, which was designed to help fintechs access the global Visa payments network. Here, Razer Fintech and Visa will develop a virtual Visa prepaid card to be embedded in the Razer Pay via mini-app, that will allow up to 60 million Razer users to make payments wherever Visa is accepted at 54 million merchant locations worldwide, claims the press release.

With the fast-track, Razer Pay users will be able to make payments wherever Visa is accepted. The prepaid solution will complement Razer Pay’s existing offerings, like mobile top-ups, virtual credits, and entertainment purchases for music and streaming services. Users can also access the platform’s benefits and rewards while using their Visa-enabled prepaid cards during e-commerce transactions, or overseas purchases.
Razer claims that the solution will also offer the same top-up and cash-out methods currently available on Razer Pay.
Beyond gaming, Visa and Razer’s Min-Liang Tan paid lip service to the idea that the solution is also intended towards the digital payments market across Southeast Asia, like the underserved markets that are often deemed as target markets for e-wallets operating in the region. Southeast Asia’s large underserved population has been of interest for various e-wallet solutions. According to KPMG, only 27% of Southeast Asia’s 600 million population has a bank account in 2016, which sets it as a hotbed for fintech and e-commerce growth.
To that end, Razer Fintech and Visa’s collaboration could introduce a gamification, and interactive financial planning within the app itself, which they hope will help with financial literacy, and in a small part combat the unbanked populations across the region.
Razer Fintech and Visa anticipate rolling out these solutions progressively in selected countries across Southeast Asia in the coming months, before expanding globally.
In 2018, Razer Pay launched in Malaysia to 300,000 Malaysian downloads in just 48 hours. Since then, the company has set up its fintech headquarters in Malaysia.
Image Credit: Razer CEO, Min-Liang Tan’s Facebook Page, Concept Design by Skipper Lee

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Digital Transformation

5 Ways That 5G Could Shape Fintech in Malaysia

									by Vincent Fong
July 12, 2019
0 comments

With bold claims like powering self-driving cars and streaming virtual reality, the promise of 5G in Malaysia has captured the imaginations both tech-geeks and casual internet surfers alike.
Moving past some of these futuristic claims, just the basic premise of 5G being twenty times faster than 4G alone should be reason enough for people to get excited.
Which is why it is welcomed news when the Malaysian Government has committed to implement 5G in Malaysia within the next 2-3 years.

With 5G just lurking around the corner, we recently spoke to Ir. Ts. Azizi A. Hadi, Chief Executive Officer of TM ONE, the business solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) to explore on how a 5G reality would impact fintech and financial services in Malaysia.

He commented, “As a member of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) National 5G Taskforce, we see 5G as a revolutionary technology that will open up and enable use cases that we never thought was possible. The low latency, high data capacity and reliability of 5G networks will help create a new platform for better delivery of financial services in the digital age.”

Though 5G is only available in very small pockets around the world, many banks are already toying with idea of using 5G technology within their operations. Based on these cases, we explore alongside Azizi, the 5 ways 5G could transform financial services.
5G Will Enable Smart Branches

Image Credit: Allen International
Conversations about 5G will inevitably lead to China, who many consider to be a clear leader in this space. Therefore, it is not a surprise that there are already Chinese banks experimenting with 5G technologies for smart branches.
China Construction Bank in particular has unveiled their plan to roll out 10 5G automated bank branches that are completely unstaffed.
Representatives from the bank said all devices within the new branch will be integrated with Internet-Of-Things (IoTs) platform to enable real-time collection of data, as well as real-time response and control. All of which will be powered by 5G.
Similarly Bank of China has also launched a 5G powered bank branch in Beijing just last month.
Azizi shared that is also within the realm of possibility for such services to be rolled out in Malaysia because 5G’s low latency and fast speeds can enable more reliable data-collection and analysis. He also believes that 5G technology will also power services like Smart ATMs.
5G Could Let You Pay Using Your Face

In China, Shenzhen, a local subway operator is testing several advanced technologies powered by the 5G network, including facial recognition payments.
Instead of presenting a ticket or scanning a QR code, commuters are now able to scan their faces on a tablet-sized screen mounted on the entrance gate and have the fare automatically deducted from their linked accounts.
With e-money payments on the rise and e-wallet players aggressively pushing for a cashless Malaysia, Azizi feels one day mobile payments operators might opt for 5G technology to power facial recognition payments. Introducing such element he believes, will create a more seamless payments experience.
5G Will Make Fraud Prevention More Accurate

Only 54% of businesses reported that they are confident in their fraud prevention technology in Experian’s 2018 Global Fraud and Identity Report. This signifies a strong need fraud prevention especially since trust is a key element for a flourishing digital economy.
Azizi shares that with 5G enabling more data to travel across networks, fraud prevention can be further enhanced. Banks will be able to more accurately analyse data like geolocation, user behaviour, transaction amount to improve fraud detection and false positives.
5G Can Enhance Security

In a 4G world, when banks detect a vulnerability within their app that necessitate an update, they often require manual intervention from the users. Whereas in the world of 5G, banks can update and add enhancements real-time without much intrusion to the end-user.
Azizi adds that beyond cybersecurity, 5G will also enable stronger security within bank branches. He shares that using 5G, banks will be able to integrate higher-resolution and have real-time monitoring for their surveillance systems.
5G Could Power Wearable Banking

While wearables have not met its full potential as a channel for mobile payments, it holds real promise as more and more consumers warm up to the idea of wearables.
5G will likely enable wearable companies to provide a larger swathe of services to its consumer, therefore increasing its appeal and viability as a payment channel.
Azizi said that having 5G powering these devices will also potentially enable banks to introduce never before possible banking experiences using virtual reality and augmented reality to wearables.
Cautious Optimism for 5G Deployment in Fintech and Financial Services
Azizi was also quick to caution that although 5G holds great promise for the industry, there are still challenges that the industry still needs to address before an ubiquitous deployment.
The biggest roadblock being cost and processing large amount of data that could lead to hitting the cap set by telcos much faster, as evidenced by BBC who ran out of data before it started its first 5G broadcast. The exclusive infrastructure investment cost would require a strong case study before full scale of deployment takes place.
He remains optimistic that as time goes by, the industry will either collectively find ways to drive the price point down to where it would be commercially viable for businesses to adopt the technology or banks will be able to introduce valuable services that can justify the investment.

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E-Wallets
Payments

Touch ‘N Go E-Wallet Introduces Money-Back Guarantee Function

									by Fintech News Malaysia
June 27, 2019
1 comment

The Touch ‘n Go e-wallet has just announced a money-back guarantee, one of the first few to do so for mobile payments in Malaysia.  The money-back guarantee policy is exclusive to the e-wallet app.
Through this policy, users of the e-wallet can report any unauthorised transactions and request for compensation either via the app itself or by visiting this page.

According to their press release, users can report any unauthorised transaction activities within 60 days of transaction date and eligible for refunds for unauthorized transactions within 5 working days.
The goal, according to Syahrunizam Samsudin, CEO of TNG Digital, is to bring a measure of trust into the platform in case of unauthorised transactions.
Touch ‘n Go eWallet claims to have over 4.2 million users and over 50,000 acceptance points to date.

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WealthTech

Silverlake Teams Up with Japanese Fintech to Launch Robo Advisor

									by Vincent Fong
June 28, 2019
2 comments

Silverlake Digital INX Sdn Bhd, a member of Silverlake Group, and Japanese fintech Money Design Co., Ltd. today announced the launch MYTHEO, a robo advisory service offered through a joint-venture company, GAX MD Sdn. Bhd.
Silverlake is a name that is familiar to many of us within the financial services industry as the locally bred software champion providing core banking system to many of our banks locally and regionally.
Ronnie Tan, CEO of GAX MD, told reporters during their press conference that they’ve been exploring this business model since Securities Commission Malaysia announced the launch of their Digital Investment Management Framework in 2017.

It was then that they started searching of suitable partners and finally landed Japanese Money Design Co. as a partner.
According to Tomoyoshi Hirose, Co Founder, Money Design Co., their robo-advisory service THEO was the first to be regulated by the Japan Financial Services Agency and they are currently serving over 60,000 Japanese investors and managing over USD 300 Million in assets.
Given Silverlake’s existing relationship with banks from around the region, many would have expected the software company to leverage that strength and go down the route of white-labelling their services to banks instead of marketing directly to consumers; which could end up being quite a costly affair.
However Ronnie shared that they’ve went down this route because they are confident that millennials that make up 29% of the Malaysian population is a large untapped market when it comes investment products.
He believes that MYTHEO will be able to effectively market its services to this segment through a combination and offline and online marketing strategies.
Ronnie also did not rule out the possibility of eventually white labelling this service to banks once they’ve gain some traction with the consumers. He also shared that once this model has been proven to be successful in Malaysia they are also open to expand this service to other regions as well.
MYTHEO is the second robo advisory service to formally launch in Malaysia following Singaporean fintech StashAway who received their license from Securities Commission last November.

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Lending

Funding Societies Teams Up with Lazada to Provide Financing for Online Merchants

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 2, 2019
1 comment

Funding Societies Malaysia, the largest digital Peer-to-Peer (P2P) financing platform in the country, announced today its partnership with Lazada Malaysia to offer short-term financing, e-commerce financing, for merchants selling on Lazada platform.
A reflection of Funding Societies and Lazada’s mutual efforts in empowering Malaysia’s micro, small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, the short-term financing is aimed at addressing a common need for growing businesses.
The business financing offered by Funding Societies connects SMEs with investors through an online marketplace and helps merchants on Lazada platform in need of working capital to increase revenue growth, bridge any short-term liquidity gap and overcome seasonal revenue fluctuations.

As an alternative financing option that is gaining much traction in the recent years, P2P financing helps to narrow the funding gap by providing an attractive alternative source of capital for local SMEs alike to fund business expansions and meet other financial requirements.
Its collaboration with Lazada Malaysia as the largest e-commerce platform in South East Asia will provide more opportunities for online businesses to receive tailor-made financing products more conveniently.
Wong Kah Meng, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Funding Societies Malaysia, said,
“We hear and understand the struggles e-commerce merchants face when it comes to securing financing to grow their online business, oftentimes overlooked by traditional financial institutions. Our partnership with Lazada will enable such merchants to gain greater access to financing via Lazada’s platform. This is made possible by leveraging on alternative data from Lazada, with consent, as part of our risk assessment. As one of the emerging pillars of our economy, P2P financing will enable greater growth within the e-commerce industry and ultimately contribute to a stronger e-commerce ecosystem.”
Leo Chow, Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Malaysia, commented on the partnership,
“SMEs play an instrumental role in further developing Malaysia’s economy and we are in the right position to help them succeed. As part of our commitment to create a healthy and sustainable e-commerce ecosystem, we are further reducing the entry barriers for sellers to build their own brands on Lazada. Providing merchants with business financing through our collaboration with Funding Societies will further add value to our already comprehensive solutions including our logistics capabilities, technology and extensive network of shoppers.”

Eligible merchants will be able to enjoy the following financing benefits from Funding Societies:
● Lower interest rate
● Retention sum requirement waived
● Flexible tenure between 3-12 months
● Minimum documents required
● Fast disbursement, approval within 5 working days
As the largest P2P financing platform in Malaysia, Funding Societies connects creditworthy local SMEs with individuals and institutional investors through a digital marketplace, thereby significantly increasing access to financing for the SME sector.
The response for the new e- commerce financing has been overwhelming as Funding Societies has received more than 500 applications with the number expected to further increase. Regionally, it has reached RM2 billion in total disbursed working capital to SMEs across Southeast Asia since its establishment.
Applications for business financing through Funding Societies can be made at: http://bit.ly/2LdxXwo

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Banking
Digital Transformation

More Than Half of Hong Leong’s Customers are Now Digital

									by Vincent Fong
July 2, 2019
1 comment

Hong Leong revealed today at their media briefing, a growing customer adoption of its digital platforms. They shared that over 64.4% of its customers are now utilising digital and mobile platforms for banking transactions as at the end of 2018, an increase of more than 20% from last year.
While going digital often been associated with the younger demographic Domenic Fuda, MD & CEO of Hong Leong Bank revealed that this is no longer the case — at least with Hong Leong’s clients

“Where we normally would see younger users taking to technology, we have instead seen the growth coming from both younger and older users across all our digital products. We have also seen the average transaction value growing year on year as well as consumers come to trust and depend on these convenient solutions,”

Hong Leong also unveiled that they will be piloting a collaboration with WeEat, a WeChat solution where customers can order, pay and receive their meal through the app.
The launch of this programme seems to be part of WeChat Pay’s three-pronged strategy to stay ahead in of other e-wallets in Malaysia

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Payments

Kuwait Finance House First to Adopt MoneyMatch’s Enterprise Solution

									by Vincent Fong
July 3, 2019
1 comment

MoneyMatch and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) today announced a strategic collaboration to provide cross-border payments for KFH’s customers.
This partnership marks MoneyMatch’s maiden entry to provide enterprise solutions via its newest product BankFX.
According to their press release Kuwait Finance House will be able to enjoy low-cost and simple cross-border transfers with 38 available currencies across 58 countries.

Their statement also seems to indicate that transactions done on BankFX rides on blockchain technology. In 2018 MoneyMatch completed their first trial with Ripple.
To celebrate the launch of this collaboration, KFH Malaysia customers will be entitled to a 100% service fee
waiver promotion for all native-currency cross-border payments made via its physical branches nationwide. This offer is valid until 31 August 2019.
Image Credit: Edited from KFH’s Linkedin Page

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Payments

Soft Space Powers Maybank’s Tap2Phone Payments Solution

									by Vincent Fong
July 4, 2019
4 comments

Maybank in collaboration with Visa Malaysia and powered by Soft Space launched their mobile payments app for merchants, Tap2phone.
This new service, enables them to accept card payments from customers by using the app on their mobile phones without the need for a point-of-sale (POS) terminal. Once enabled, merchants will be able to accept card payments by simply having their customers tap their card on the merchant’s mobile phone
Tap2Phone is supported by the latest Android-based smartphones which are equipped with Near-Field  Communication (NFC) and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technologies, to facilitate credit, debit and prepaid card payments.

Merchants will simply have to download and launch the Tap2Phone application on their smartphones and customers can tap their card to the merchant’s phone to make payments. The Tap2Phone service accepts all contactless payments for transactions of RM250 and below.
Commenting on the launch Joel Tay, said,
“We’ve designed and developed this solution in partnership with Maybank and Visa to spur the adoption of cashless card payments amongst merchants in Malaysia. With Tap2Phone utilising our technology, we’re proud to say that we are the first to roll out such a unique solution to customers in the region, an aim that is consistent with our philosophy of reshaping finance by enabling simplified mobile payment solutions for businesses.”

Meanwhile, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia Ng Kong Boon added,
“Contactless transactions in Malaysia are becoming increasingly popular, with four out of ten Visa transactions being contactless. Given Malaysians are extremely familiar with using contactless payments, we believe both merchants and consumers will adopt this low cost and simple solution”
During the press conference Maybank said that they are targeting to enable over 10,000 devices over the next 12 months.
Similarly Soft Space has previously entered into partnership with PayNet to make this service available for debit cards as well. In the same fashion, businesses will be able to use any Android-based smartphones with NFC technology to accept and process MyDebit payments — which is available on all Malaysian debit cards.

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Payments

RHB’s New Credit Card Feature 3-Digit Security Codes That Automatically Refreshes

									by Vincent Fong
July 22, 2019
3 comments

RHB unveiled today at their press conference, its latest fraud prevention technology for their card users. Partnering with Visa and IDEMIA, their credit card generates dynamic card verification value (CVV) security code on an e-paper mini-screen at the back of the card.
This basically means the 3 digit code at the back of your card will automatically refresh regularly, replacing the static 3 digit code at the back of a typical credit or debit card.
Dubbed as RHB Rewards Motion Code™, RHB said in a statement that this technology is set to prevent credit card fraud and hackers from accessing important data and disrupting transactions.

In a 2018 report by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the majority of payment card fraud cases in Malaysia involved credit cards, which accounted for 92.1% of total fraud losses. Payment card fraud is mainly contributed by card-not-present (CNP) fraud such as unauthorised online transactions using stolen PIN numbers, CVV code and identity theft.
“RHB is proud to be at the forefront of fraud prevention in Malaysia. In our efforts to curb fraud, we continue to pursue innovation in line with our aspirations to be a digital-centric bank by 2022.
By partnering with Visa & IDEMIA, we have been able to leverage on best-in-class security features to safeguard our customers’ financial resources. This card provides a complete end-to-end solution for RHB as an issuer an for our cardholders,” said Nazri Othman, Acting Head of Group Retail Banking, RHB Banking Group.

This technology relies on a complex algorithm to automatically generate a new code, and does not require any disruptive process such as installing a plugin or having to key in additional data. RHB targets to issue 21,000 new RHB Rewards Motion Code TM credit cards per year. Customers will also receive a waiver of annual fees on the first year.

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Lending
Payments

GHL to Offer Installment Payment Solution to 2,000 of Its Online Merchants

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 23, 2019
1 comment

GHL Systems Berhad announced today that will be teaming up with Splitit Payments to offer the latter’s installment solutions to 2,000 of its online merchants in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippines.
GHL is one of the top merchant acquirers in the ASEAN region, processing over AUD $350 million in total online and offline transaction value per month via its network of large and small merchants across multiple industries, with a particular strength in the travel sector.
Under the Agreement, GHL merchants will be able to offer their customers Splitit’s installment payment solution to pay for online purchases with an existing credit card, splitting the cost into interest and fee-free monthly payments.

Following integration with GHL’s payment systems, each merchant will be able to easily and swiftly go live with Splitit via a simple selection from a drop-down menu provided by GHL.
Commenting on the partnership, Danny Leong, Group CEO, GHL said
Danny Leong

“We are excited to add Splitit to our list of world-class payment services, enabling our merchants to offer greater payment flexibility to their consumers,”
“Splitit’s non-lending offering is unlike any other payment player’s and we believe this partnership will help us continue our growth as ASEAN’s trusted payment experts.”

Enabling installment payments for e-commerce is a fast growing space made evident by the fact Grab has also launched similar services dubbed “PayLater” and the fact the top funded Indonesian fintech startup, Akulaku is operating in this space.
Featured image credit: Splitit

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E-Wallets
Payments

BSN Teams up With Sarawak Pay to Serve Rural Communities in Sarawak

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 23, 2019
0 comments

Bank Simpanan Nasional announced today its collaboration with Sarawak Multimedia Authority during the launch of Sarawak Pay, an e-wallet application geared towards serving the rural communities within Sarawak.
The state government received Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval to roll-out its e-wallet payment services in 2017.
Through this collaboration, Sarawakians will be able to top up their Sarawak Pay e-wallet at any of Bank Simpanan Nasional’s 424 agent banks across the state. This partnership will also enable the users to withdraw money through the agent banks as well.

BSN’s agent banking network typically consist of neighbourhood shops equipped BSN’s terminals which enables customers to perform basic financial services in lieu of bank branch.
The application will be further enhanced in the next phase with more services such as micro-financing, welfare aid and many more.
The launch of Sarawak Pay according to Sarawak Multimedia Authority, is in line with its Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2025, which is to create a tool to deepen access to financial services.
Commenting on the collaboration  Chief Executive of BSN, Datuk Yunos Abd Ghani says,

“At BSN, it is our mission to rope everyone in our initiatives aligned with our vision – ‘No Malaysian Left Behind’. We are always committed to provide an easily accessible integrated platform of financial services for our customers. This is not only part of our mandated roles but also our concerted effort to ensure that financial inclusion is strengthened among Malaysians. We are committed to champion our brand promise in providing every Malaysian an equal opportunity to enjoy a better life as well as continue uplifting the economic well-being of Malaysians,”

Image Credit:  Sarawak Pay

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E-Wallets
Payments

Valyou to Enable In-App Remittance to Western Union Agent Locations

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 23, 2019
0 comments

Valyou, fintech subsidiary of Telenor group announced today that its e-wallet has integrated with Western Union to enable its customers in Malaysia to send money to Western Union agent locations across Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, China and Nigeria within the app.
The Valyou mobile wallet is popular in the rural areas of Malaysia, bridging services in largely underbanked and financially underserved communities. Cashing in funds is made via Valyou’s 1,500 wallet Cash In Cash Out merchant locations.
“With Valyou being a leader in the International Remittance Mobile Wallet space with a large network penetrating the rural areas in Malaysia; and with Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross- currency money movement, having a large number of locations in the receiving countries, this union offers a convergence of convenience for both senders and receivers,” said Prasanna Rao, Chief Executive
Officer of Valyou.

“This collaboration is a key enabler in expanding funds payout to a wide network of countries. We are always driven to provide a seamless experience for customers. Today, Valyou sees a significant number of its transactions being sent from rural locations in Malaysia and this corresponds on the receiving side with 80% also residing in rural parts of their country. This collaboration doubles down on convenience to our Valyou wallet holders and their receivers, enabling them to now collect funds closer to their homes”, he said.
In the past Valyou was reported to be partnering with Mutual Trust Bank in Bangladesh to enable wallet-to-wallet remittance. They have also launched a blockchain-based remittance solution with Telenor Microfinance Bank in Pakistan that is developed by AliPay.
Telenor Microfinance Bank as the name implies is part of the same group with Valyou.

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Public Bank First to Adopt DuitNow QR

Payments

Public Bank First to Adopt DuitNow QR

									by Fintech News Malaysia
July 31, 2019
8 comments

DuitNow QR is established under Bank Negara Malaysia’s Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework (ICTF). ICTF mandates that PayNet, as the country’s shared payment infrastructure provider, implement an interoperable and common QR standard for Malaysia.
DuitNow QR is an extension of the DuitNow service launched in December 2018, which allows Bank customers to transfer money instantly and securely on a 24/7 basis at banks’ Internet or Mobile Banking channel using only their mobile numbers
With the launch of this, Malaysia has a common QR standard which will work for customers of all participating banks and e-wallets. Through the common QR standard, users can make payment from any participating banks or e-wallet mobile apps.

Merchants would only need to display one QR Code, the DuitNow QR, to accept payments, as opposed to the current practice of displaying multiple proprietary QR codes at payment counters.
Public Bank is the first bank in Malaysia to enable the common QR standard.
In addition to Public Bank, there are 33 banks that will be enabling DuitNow QR in their mobile banking apps. These banks will progressively go live over the next 12 months.  “We have also received applications from 12 licensed e-wallet providers and non-bank acquirers to participate in the DuitNow QR scheme and we expect to admit a number of those in the next 6 months,” said Mr Peter Schiesser.

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E-Wallets
Payments

BNM: E-Wallets Need to Move Beyond Cashbacks to Be Sustainable

									by Vincent Fong
August 1, 2019
3 comments

During his keynote speech at the “Malaysian E-Payments Excellence Awards” Assistant Governor Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid outlined the state of e-payments in Malaysia and the key strategic focus for Malaysia’s payments journey.
Some key progress that we’ve made that was highlighted in his speech was:

Cheque usage was reduced by half to 101 million
POS terminals have more than doubled to 16 terminals per 1,000 inhabitants
Over 400,000 merchants have been recorded to accept QR payments
E-Payment transactions have almost tripled
Mobile Payments transaction increased twenty-fold from 2 million transactions to over 34 million transactions

Yet despite all the progress Assistant Governor Adnan also pointed out that studies have shown 80% of Malaysians are still using cash in majority of their daily spend such as F&B, groceries and fuel.
Against this backdrop, he laid out 3 key areas to that the industry should focus on:
A more inclusive e-payment adoption
Specifically he highlighted the unevenness of e-payment adoption; he stressed that the industry needs to work together to drive adoption beyond just urban centres and to also have an increased focus towards low-tier merchants like hawkers and night markets which are often frequented by Malaysians.
He pointed out that new technologies that are readily available in Malaysia like “Tap-On-Phone” and Paynet’s DuitNow QR goes a long a way to serving this market. “Tap-on-phone” refers to a mobile solution that enables merchant to accept card payments without any additional hardware and DuitNow QR refers to a common QR standard that enables merchants to accept e-wallet payments using only one QR code.
He added that another dimension to help drive this change would be to digitise salary payments, and payments to suppliers, wholesalers and distributor which will make it more compelling for merchants to keep using e-payments.
Providing more value to users beyond just offering cashbacks
Assistant Governor Adnan called upon the industry rethink their strategy and focus on putting customers at the core of innovation to address real pain points and drive greater value creation.
He pointed out that some players are offering generous rewards including cashback to stimulate usage among users and cautioned that while such practice may be effective in driving e-wallet adoption at the initial stage it might not be sustainable in the long run.
He also shared that e-wallets and mobile banking apps should provide seamless ways for users to track their expense, which would include budgeting features, instant notifications and possibly smart money management tools. Some of these enhancements may be small tweaks with a potentially big impact to get users to be more comfortable with e-payments.
To that end, he highlighted that Bank Negara Malaysia’s virtual banking framework is one of the central bank’s strategy to enable players to provide value proposition to its ends users beyond just payments and cashbacks.
Future proofing Malaysia’s payments landscape
The assistant governor stressed that payment systems of the future not only need to be inclusive, it must also be able to accommodate the speed of change for implementing new solutions at scale.
He highlighted the launch of the Real-time Retail Payments Platform as one the initiatives to achieve that goal. It is designed to be more scalable, flexible and open to support new use cases such as Proxy Payments, Request-to-Pay, e-Mandates and services to support more seamless customer onboarding processes.
Alongside that, Assistant Governor Adnan also highlighted several other key initiatives like the Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework which provides fair and open access for banks and non-banks to shared payment infrastructures such as the RPP, the Open API framework, adoption of the ISO20022 standard, and its recently issued Risk Management in Technology policy as some of the measure that the central bank has taken to future proof Malaysia’s payments landscape.

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E-Wallets
Payments

TNG Digital Appoints Ex-Malaysia Airlines Veteran as Its New CEO

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 5, 2019
1 comment

TNG Digital a Malaysian e-wallet formed as a result of a joint-venture between  Touch ‘n Go and Ant Financial Group, announced today that it has appointed Ignatius Ong as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Ignatius succeeds Syahrunizam Samsudin, who will return to his role as CEO of Touch ‘n Go.
A 15-year airline veteran, Ignatius comes to TNG Digital having most recently served as Group Chief Revenue Officer at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and immediately before that as CEO of Firefly Airlines from 2011 to 2018. His prior responsibilities at the airline covered various areas of growth, revenue and sales management of the organisation.
Commenting on the appointment, Chairman of TNG Digital, Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz said,

“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Ignatius to what is possibly Malaysia’s fastest growing company. He comes into the role suitably experienced, and with a firm mandate to accelerate growth at TNGD as it moves to maintain and solidify its position as the No.1 e-wallet player in the country, directly supporting the nation’s cashless agenda.”
Ignatius Ong’s appointment as CEO is effective 12th August 2019.

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Insurtech

Grab Malaysia Launches Daily Insurance for E-Hailing Drivers

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 7, 2019
1 comment

Grab Malaysia unveiled a usage-based motor insurance and takaful  for e-hailing driver in Malaysia, Grab Daily Insurance (GDI).
Designed in partnership with 14 leading insurers and takaful operators in the country, the innovative product offers driver an accessible, yoption to add on daily e-hailing insurance coverage from as low as RM1 per day

New e-hailing regulations require drivers to purchase an e-hailing insurance/takaful, an add-on to their existing motor insurance/takaful, which may cost up to RM400-500 upfront for the year. Grab aims address this upfront burden via Grab Daily Insurance
GDI is the latest product by GrabInsure, Grab Financial Group’s insurance arm. GrabInsure is a digital insurance marketplace set up by the joint venture between Grab and Chinese insurtech giant ZhongAn Technologies .
Across the causeway Grab has also launched a micro insurance plan aimed at covering critical illness for its drivers.

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Lending

CIMB and Axiata Teams up To Offer Financing Solutions to 700,000 SMEs

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 9, 2019
3 comments

CIMB Group has entered into a partnership with Axiata Digital Capital to help 700,000 SME customers in Malaysia and Indonesia to access financing solutions. This will be done through Axiata Digital Capital’s micro lending platform, Aspirasi.
Victor Lee, CEO Commercial Banking, CIMB added that through this partnership they aim to fulfill SME needs based on their different business life stages.
Axiata Digital Capital’s CEO, Sheyantha Abeykoon shared that the digital financing platform, Aspirasi offers a digital loan application journey with instant underwriting and fast disbursement, offering customers an unparalleled experience from any offered in the market today.

The partnership will leverage on ADC’s various regional digital platforms, particularly in Indonesia where ADC hosts 600,000 merchants

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Regtech/Regulation

BNM Issues e-KYC Exposure Draft for Money Changers

									by Vincent Fong
August 13, 2019
3 comments

Following the introduction of e-KYC guidelines for remittance companies in 2017, Bank Negara Malaysia issued an exposure draft which expands similar e-KYC guidelines for money changers in Malaysia.
The draft outlines proposed mininum requirements and standards that a licensed money changer approved to implement e-KYC must observe in on-boarding customer.
The draft largely mirrors the earlier policy document but with some minor tweaks in requirements reflecting the nature of a money-changing business.

While the widening of e-KYC for the purposes of on-boarding customers is move that is welcome by all, the industry eagerly awaits for e-KYC to be applicable to across the financial services industry.
It is anticipated that an industry-wide e-KYC guideline would be made available prior to the issuance of the virtual banking framework scheduled for end of this year.
The full exposure draft can be found here and feedback must be submitted to Bank Negara Malaysia by 8th September 2019.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Lending

GHL to Offer Lending Services in Malaysia and Thailand

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 13, 2019
1 comment

GHL announced today that they have obtained their operating licences from the respective regulators in Malaysia and Thailand to commence money lending services.
The licences were issued by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Money Lending Licence under the Moneylenders Act 1951) and Bank of Thailand (Nano Finance Licence) for GHL’s operating units in Malaysia and Thailand respectively. These licences permits money lending services to both individuals as well as businesses.
This news follows the announcement of GHL’s partnership with Splitit Payments to offer installment payments solution to GHL’s online merchants.

The CEO of GHL Group, Mr. Danny Leong said,
Danny Leong
“This development is timely as GHL seeks to roll out complementary services in addition to payment solutions to our merchant base. The granting of these licences by two regulators is also recognition of GHL’s proven track record in the payments space. The expanded service offering will further strengthen our position as the leading e-payment solutions provider in the region and preferred choice by merchants. We are hopeful in securing another similar licence in the Philippines which is currently in progress.”

Featured image credit: Pexels

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Payments

MyPay Launches its Government Digital Payments Platform

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 16, 2019
1 comment

Home-grown tech company Dapat Vista announced the official launch of its government e-payments service, MyPay.
They first announced their foray into the market in January 2019 when they launched the beta version of their service, the company started out as a SMS service provider for various government departments and agencies since 2000.
To date the platform has enabled services with agencies such as the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ), The Election Commission of Malaysia (SPR), the RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd (RAMCI) and many more.

The platform will enable Malaysians to check their loan balances and making payments , getting updates on outstanding traffic summons and tax, performing licence renewal as well as lodging complaints and reports.
Sabri Rahman, Executive Director of MyPay said in speech that they intend to move beyond government agencies and into the payments services for various utilities and other monthly payments typically made by consumers. The strategy to conquer this already highly saturated space was not made clear. The company is targeting to register 300,00 users in the short term.
A report by the Economist and Visa indicates that Malaysia’s government digital payments facilities are reasonably robust, in the same study Malaysia surprisingly ranks higher than China in government digital payment facilities.

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Digital Transformation

Why eKYC is Key To Unlocking Malaysia’s Digital Banking Revolution

									by Vincent Fong
September 5, 2019
4 comments

I’ve moderated and sat in a fair number of fintech panel discussions over the years, a question that is brought up 9 out 10 of every panel discussion is “What do you think are the key technology shaping fintech and banking in Malaysia?” and some variation of that same question.
If you’re like me and have attended too many fintech conferences, the answers will come as no surprise to you. The common answers are often; blockchain, artificial intelligence, open banking, virtual banking, and mobile payment.

Yet despite the importance of eKYC and digital identity, very rarely do you hear any panelists in these conferences pointing out the impact of eKYC and digital identity in Malaysia’s banking and fintech ecosystem.
A study conducted by Mckinsey shows that there is a potential cost reduction of 90% in customer onboarding cost by enabling eKYC. The same study also indicated that digital identity could potentially enable 1.7 billion of the unbanked population to gain access to financial services.
A separate study by Refinitiv further breaks down the cost KYC, much of the cost is largely attributed to staffing costs, which supports that idea that digitising the KYC process could significantly reduce the cost of customer onboarding.

It is a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Bank Negara Malaysia, in 2017 the regulator issued the eKYC framework for remittance companies and subsequently in 2019, a similar draft was issued for money changers.
Though there’s development particularly within the Money Services Business (MSB) space, the regulator has not made any formal announcement for eKYC guidelines for the wider financial services sector.
There have been some nuggets of information though, during the MyFintech Week earlier this year, BNM’s financial development and innovation department director Suhaimi Ali mentioned that there are currently 11 banks trialing eKYC solutions.

Suhaimi: Now there are several banks trialling eKYC with one particular provider
— Vincent Fong (@Vincent_FongKw) June 18, 2019

Suhaimi did not disclose further the nature of the trial nor the details of the provider but credit reporting agency CTOS who is also present at the event shared in a separate session that they are trialing their eKYC project with several banks and they are looking to enter Bank Negara Malaysia sandbox.
Neither party has stated they are referring to the same thing, though there’s a good chance that the snapshot below could be what it looks like.

a sneak peak on how it looks like pic.twitter.com/PgdkoeISWW
— Vincent Fong (@Vincent_FongKw) June 18, 2019

With Malaysia’s population becoming increasingly digital and eKYC technology becoming more affordable, it would be very ideal for Bank Negara Malaysia to release eKYC guidelines for the wider financial services sector.
When you consider those factors alongside the fact Malaysia will be dishing out virtual banking license soon, it’s clear that eKYC regulation for the wider industry is inevitable.
But Malaysia doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel, there are already plenty of countries who have launched digital IDs and eKYC, we just need to learn from them.

Image Credit: Mckinsey

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ghadaffi Mohd Tairobi, the Vertical Director for Banking, Financial Services & Insurance of TM ONE acknowledges that there are many benefits of Digital ID from a business perspective, as it will save time and money by reducing it to over the counter transactions, increasing productivity and enabling seamless and digital driven experiences for customers.
He believes that eKYC then becomes an important process for the banks to perform customer on-boarding faster compared to traditional way of over the counter.
However, Ghadaffi’s key concern was on managing digital ID fraud. He said,
“This is why TM ONE eKYC solution is in compliant with Risk Management in Technology (RMiT) and Data Residency and Sovereignty requirements to assist the BFSI industry in the successful implementation of this initiative”.

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Payments

Selangor Launches All-in-One Digital Payments Platform CEpat

									by Vincent Fong
August 21, 2019
0 comments

The Selangor government announced today the launch of a digital payments platform dubbed Citizens Electronic Payments Platform (CEpat).
CEpat is intended to be a single platform in which citizens can make payments to all government agencies at various levels of the Selangor state which includes things like zakat, assessment tax, parking.

YAB Tuan Amirudin Bin Shari, Chief Minister of Selangor said in a media statement that the Selangor government’s vision is to have all state and local government services to be accessible through a single digital platform by 2022.
The development of CEPat was spearheaded by the Smart Selangor Delivery Unit in collaboration with local councils, state agencies, financial institutions, and e-wallet players.
The Chief Minister is hopeful that the platform will be able to house all the 40+ e-wallet players in Malaysia.
CEPat will be available for download on both Google Playstore and Apple AppStore on 1st October 2019. Sign-ups for the web version are already available.
Image Credit: Syed Zulhilmi from Pomen App

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Lending
WealthTech

P2P Financing Platform Fundaztic Launches Capital Protection Scheme

									by Vincent Fong
August 27, 2019
0 comments

Fundaztic a peer to peer (P2P) financing platform approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia announced today the introduction of Principal Protect.
The Principal Protect scheme is offered by Fundaztic in a bid to enhance investor trust and confidence by providing an assurance that investors will not incur capital losses if investments are made per simple conditions set
Investors who have invested up to RM 100,000 and above will be protected RM 30,000 and investors below the investment sum will be protected up to RM 10,000 based on the following criteria:

Principal Protect has a built in mechanism within the system that will automatically kick- in with every 100 Notes in the member’s portfolio.
The highest invested amount in a portfolio must not exceed three times the average investment amount per note. Example if the average investment for a portfolio of 100 notes is RM1,000 per note, only investments worth up to RM3,000 will be covered by Principal Protect.

Fundaztic told Fintech News Malaysia in a media statement that, reimbursements for such cases will be issued within the 10th working day of the following month.
Kristine Ng
Speaking at the launch of Principal Protect, Kristine Ng, Chief Executive Officer, further explained that,
“Principal Protect does not require members to sign-up or opt-in. It is automatically provided as soon as the member meets simple conditions set.
These conditions comprise of what we have been advocating all these while and that is to build a portfolio of at least 100 Notes, in as short a time as possible through diversification into all Note types issued and investing in almost equal amount to manage risks involved. Therefore, as long as a member has invested in at least 100 Notes and in amounts that do not deviate more than 3 times from the average amount invested per Note, the investor automatically enjoys Principal Protect.”
She added, “Fundaztic is proud to be the first P2P financing platform to provide protection and guarantee on a portfolio basis.”

Fundaztic is founded by a group of prominent ex-bankers and a lawyer. It is a company with a paid-up capital of RM15.5 million and other principal shareholders include Mezzanine Ventures Sdn Bhd which is held 100% by Amcorp Capital Markets Sdn Bhd, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amcorp Group Berhad and Benjamin Teo.
In October 2018, the company set a record in the local fundraising scene by achieving RM 3 million of funding through 64 investors in just 38 minutes via PitchIN.
As of end July 2019, Fundaztic hosted 763 investment notes on its website, with a total funding campaign of RM59.9 million and have disbursed RM55.2 million towards the 725 investment notes that have been fully funded.

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Payments

JomParking Enables GrabPay as Payment Option

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 28, 2019
0 comments

Jom Parking a startup that enables digital payments for on-street parking has announced that their app now supports GrabPay as a payment option. This is in addition to existing methods like online banking, debit card and credit cards.
According to their media statement, JomParking now has more than 300,000 users. Their service seems to be largely focused within the Greater Klang Valley Area.
“JomParkir is extremely excited about this partnership. We are proud to be partnering with Grab. The new payment option is a good alternative in helping Malaysians to reduce the pain points in parking payment such as cash issues, hassle in finding parking coupons, or loss of a parking ticket. GrabPay, as a platform of e-wallet alleviates the inconvenience that all our users have to go through on a daily basis,”
said Muhamad Nasir, Chief Executive Officer of JomParkir Sdn Bhd.

Nasir added that it has been the company’s goal to work with government authorities or bigger brands in building a cashless society here in Malaysia.

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E-Wallets
Payments

XOX Mobile To Launch Mastercard Enabled E-Wallet Soon

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 29, 2019
0 comments

XOX Mobile an MNVO operator is the latest in the long line of companies joining the e-wallet game in Malaysia. XOX Mobile’s CEO, Ng Kok Heng told local media that they are eyeing to capture 10% of the market within the first year of launching their e-wallet.
The group will reportedly allocate RM 33 million to expand its e-wallet function by developing a new app to support micropayments, issuance of Mastercards and peer-to-peer transfers.
The telco seems confident that it will be able to build upon its existing ecosystem to compete in Malaysia’s extremely crowded e-wallet market.

Despite the group’s optimism, it is unclear what significant advantages it would have over existing telco players like Axiata’s Boost, Digi’s vcash or even U Mobile’s GoPayz.
If XOX Mobile intends to rely on its Mastercard partnership it will have to step in the ring and compete with the likes of BigPay who has a partnership with Mastercard and one of Malaysia’s largest money services business operator Merchantrade who has partnered with Visa to launch their e-wallet, Merchantrade Money.

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E-Wallets
Payments

kiplePark to Enable Cashless Parking Using Only Your Car Plate Number

									by Fintech News Malaysia
August 29, 2019
1 comment

kiplePark, a wholly-owned brand of Green Packet Berhad, announced the launch of their license plate recognition (LPR) technology which they to be the first in Malaysia.
The kiplePark LPR is a system where users only need to register their car license plate number using the kiplePark app.
Upon entering the car park, the users will receive a notification and e-Ticket on kiplePark app and while exiting, the kiplePark LPR system will automatically scan the car license plate number and payment will be automatically deducted from the users’ e-wallet.

kiplePark shared that over the past few years its AI enabled system has captured and learnt images of more than 1 million car license plates in Malaysia. They claim that, to-date, it has achieved more than 99% accuracy rate in reading the numbers of the car license plates.
kiplePark LPR is also open for integration with existing parking system, maximizing the ROI of invested parking equipment by the parking operators.

It is developed specifically to serve buildings, property management and parking owners better, kiplePark LPR can be deployed in both indoor and parking facilities.
Edisijuta which is located at Amcorp Mall, is the first parking operator to provide a seamless parking operation and experience to users using kiplePark LPR technology. Presently, kiplePark LPR is undergoing trial and testing stages at other sites in the Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu.
Mike Lee
“At kiplePark, we understand drivers’ frustrations, such as looking for machines to pay the tickets, and/or queuing to pay for the ticket. The frustration elevates further when you are rushing to your next appointment and realize that you have run out of notes. Having evaluated the needs of the fast-paced society today and coupled with our strong belief that every human must thrive with life improving digital innovations, kiplePark LPR sets to provide a VIP experience to the users where they can enter and exit the car parks without much hassle,”
said Mike Lee, Chief Operating Officer of Kiplepay Sdn Bhd.
Another interesting feature of kiplePark is that it provides a security feature which allows the users to ‘lock’ their cars from leaving the venue.

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Payments

What is The Role of Fintech in Asia’s Growing Remittance Market?

									by Vincent Fong
September 26, 2019
2 comments

In 2018, a record high of US$ 689 billion worth of remittance was made and US$ 529 billion of which were sent to low and middle-income countries.
ASEAN, in particular, is a burgeoning region that is capturing the interest of international players like Transferwise and locally bred players like InstaReM, MoneyMatch and most recently BigPay.
Beyond the pure remittance play “super apps” like Grab and WeChat are also eyeing this segment as well.

When you glean the remittance data coming out of the region, it should come as no surprise that these players are interested in the region. ASEAN’s growth in remittance has seen a steady increase and in many ASEAN countries, remittance represents a significant portion of their economy.

This is especially true for the Philippines where remittance accounts for 10% of the country’s GDP.

Source: Knomad
Fintech to The Rescue?
Despite these high number of transactions, the international remittance market remains highly inefficient, with banks being the most expensive channel averaging at 11% and global averages hovering at around 6.84% the amount sent.
The global average of roughly 6% is more than twice the amount of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal of 3%.
For the millions of migrants workers, these remittances are their family’s primary source of income, and for some, these marginal differences in fees could be the difference between whether or not their families are able to access basic necessities.
Breakthroughs in digital technology have existed for some time now which is enabling remittances to be done in a drastically more cost-efficient manner. Some reports are even indicating that digital remittance companies can reduce the cost of remittance to as low as 2.87%.
Where Does the Opportunity Lie?
While the end-user facing fintech companies are gaining popularity, companies like Tranglo who are working behind the scenes to enable these cross border payments are seeing success in riding this wave.
Tranglo’s CEO Jacky Lee said: “We believe everyone should have easy access to cross-border payment services. We use superior technology to transform consumer-facing businesses so that they can focus on adding value to their products.”

Outside of industry circles, Tranglo is virtually unheard by the general public but many would consider companies like Tranglo the real winners in this growing trend.
The Malaysian company has grown tremendously since being founded in 2008 and is now processing in excess of US$ 2 Billion in cross border transactions every year
They have even managed to secure major players Transferwise, WeChatPay Hong Kong, Hyperwallet, SingCash and Valyou as their partners; many of which are poster boys for the industry.
Maybe it is true what Mark Twain said  “During the gold rush it’s a good time to be in the pick and shovel business” and it seems Tranglo has made it their business to come up with the best picks and shovels they can.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

Malaysia Still Behind International Counterparts On Blockchain Patents

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 6, 2019
0 comments

As blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) move from their open source and peer-to-peer beginnings and enter the mainstream, companies are rushing to file patent applications.
In this area, China-based companies largely dominate their international counterparts and have so far filed the most patents related to blockchain. According to IPR Daily, a Chinese intellectual property news site, China represented 67% of the world’s global blockchain patent applications in the first half of 2019.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is the company that filed the most blockchain patents, topping the list with 322 blockchain patents, followed by PingAn with 274 patents, and Nchain with 241 patents.

China is followed by the US accounting for 16% of all of the world’s blockchain patents filed, Japan accounting for 5%, Germany accounting for 4% and South Korea accounting for 2%.
Though Malaysia is still far behind when it comes to blockchain patents, efforts have been made to develop intellectual properties (IPs), according to a recent report by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT).
In a research titled Malaysia: Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), the technology think tank cited MyDNATM by VTOS Malaysia, an internationally patented insurance telematics solution that combines service oriented architecture (SOE) and blockchain.
Since 2016, VTOS Malaysia have deployed blockchain alongside telematics for Malaysia Motor Insurance Pool (MMIP), an entity under the purview of Bank Negara Malaysia, to monitor engine data for insurance purposes.
Moving forward, MIGHT says IP development will likely be one of the most important factors for Malaysia.
“As more than 98% of [Malaysia’s] businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the open-source system could allow a lower cost for technology adoption than the traditional proprietary IP system. This would place SMEs in a better position to seek new opportunities,” the report says.
The research, which addresses the current state of blockchain and DLT development in Malaysia, says that although crypto and blockchain awareness is still limited compared to other locations like China, the US or Singapore, several initiatives have been launched since 2015 to address this issue and raise adoption.
The report notes the number of blockchain events which leapfrogged in 2017, jumping from 3 in 2016, to 49 in 2017 and 89 in 2018. These events have emerged as important platforms to share and improve technical knowledge, promote ideas and experiences, and enable networking, the report says.

Government pushes blockchain adoption
But perhaps one of the most active actor that’s helped promote blockchain and boost adoption is the Malaysian government itself, and today, several governmental agencies, including the Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia, Malaysia’s national applied research and development center, MIMOS, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), as well as Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, a government agency focused on the education sector, are either exploring or experimenting with blockchain, the report says.
Image: The current government efforts in blockchain regulatory framework, Malaysia: Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology Report 2019, MIGHT
During its annual Synergistic Collaboration by SC (SCxSC) event in November 2018, the SC unveiled a report, titled Capital Market Architecture Blueprint in a Decentralised World, in which it outlined the recently completed Project Castor, an initiative ran in collaboration with a local blockchain solution provider Neuroware.io. The idea behind Project Castor was to develop a “multi-tiered market environment” that contained both centralized and decentralized markets, with the latter underpinned by DLT.
Meanwhile, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the country’s central bank, has been working towards facilitating the adoption of cutting edge technologies including DLT though initiatives such as its regulatory sandbox, launched in 2016, as well as the Financial Technology Enabler Group (FTEG), a platform to explore critical enablers in supporting infrastructure and framework development for the financial industry.
But efforts involving blockchain increased substantially in 2019, notably through public/private sector initiatives backed by blockchain communities including those responsible for the development of Bitcoin Core, Ethereum, NEM and NEO, according to the government’s website.
Some noteworthy blockchain initiatives, according to the MIGHT report, include applications of the technology for renewable energy certification (Tenaga Nasional), mobility (VTOS), asset tagging (Luxtag.io), Shariah-compliant gold trading (HelloGold), and over-the-counter (OTC) markets (Neuroware.io).

New crypto regulations
Earlier this year, a new rule came into effect that made the SC the competent government agency to oversee digital asset offerings and crypto exchanges. The new regulation also required these companies to seek approval from the SC before starting operations.
As of June 2019, the SC had conditionally approved only three companies to establish and operate digital asset exchanges in the country: Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Sinegy Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, and Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn Bhd. These were given nine months to comply with registration requirements.
Malaysia’s efforts to regulate the crypto space is part of regulators’ desire to protect investors by enabling them to identify more easily the serious players as crypto scams and pyramid schemes proliferate, the report says.

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Blockchain/Bitcoin

CoinGecko Releases “Trust Score 2.0” to Improve Transparency Amongst Crypto Exchanges

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 11, 2019
0 comments

Building upon the success of Trust Score, CoinGecko today announced Trust Score 2.0, which will bring about a more robust exchange ranking system.
This was launched, following several high-profile cryptocurrency exchange closures and hacks during the first half of 2019, leading to losses of over $270 million.
This update will go beyond liquidity measurements and will introduce four new major measurements, namely, exchanges’ API technical competency, scale of operations, estimated cryptocurrency reserves, and regulatory compliance.

Earlier in May 2019, CoinGecko launched Trust Score to provide additional insights into exchanges’ liquidity through orderbook and web traffic analysis. This was necessary to combat fake exchange volumes and to provide cryptocurrency investors with the means of avoiding exchanges that have poor actual liquidity.

TM Lee
“As one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency data aggregators, it is our duty to provide critical and actionable data to our users.
With the launch of Trust Score 2.0, progress is being made to promote transparency amongst cryptocurrency exchanges. We look forward to innovating further to better evaluate cryptocurrency exchanges based on a comprehensive set of data,”
said TM Lee, co-founder of CoinGecko.

Trust Score 2.0 is now live on CoinGecko for all exchanges, giving traders instant access to these insights.

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Payments

70% of Malaysians Prefer to Visit Shops that Accept Digital Payments, Visa Study Says

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 19, 2019
1 comment

Digital payments are becoming the payment method of choice in Malaysia, with 70 percent of consumers preferring to visit merchants that accept digital payments compared to those that only accept cash, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2018. This is an increase of 21 percent compared to the previous year.
The sample size of this study is relatively small, with only 500 Malaysians between the age of 18-60 surveyed, so it may or may not represent an entirely accurate picture of Malaysian’s attitude towards digital payments.
Over half of the respondents expect their use of digital payments to increase over the next year. The merchant categories that consumers expect higher usage of digital payments include large shopping malls (65%), supermarkets (60%) and bill payments (57%).

Top benefits cited for paying with digital payments include convenience (70%), hassle-free (62%), and wide acceptance (56%). More than half of the respondents (60%) believe going cashless offers greater payment security, in addition to being able to track their spending better, even though cash remains the preferred payment method for small transaction amounts in the country.

“We are encouraged to see a growing preference for digital payments among Malaysian consumers. We see a similar trend based on our VisaNet data, where the total value of consumer spending on Visa and number of transactions have increased double-digit percent year on year. However, there are continued opportunities for growth because cash still accounts for more than 60 per cent of consumer spending in Malaysia,”
said Mr. Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia.

Featured image credit: Visa

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Payments

BigPay Announces the Launch of Remittance Services

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 23, 2019
4 comments

BigPay, Air Asia Group’s fintech focused company announced today the launch of their international remittance service, which enables users to send money directly from Malaysia to bank accounts in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with no hidden fees and extra charges, they claim.
This is the first wave of BigPay’s international remittance rollout, with additional corridors to be announced in the near future.
Commenting on the launch Chris Davison, CEO and Co-Founder, BigPay said,

Chris Davison
“We’re focused on democratising financial services in ASEAN, so it’s an exciting moment for us to be able to offer Malaysians a cheaper and better alternative to remit money,”
“Technology can dramatically reduce the cost of remittance and we want to make it easy for people to move money abroad – whether it is sending money to family, friends or other overseas payments – without having to pay exorbitant exchange rates and transfer fees. Approximately US$25 billion is lost globally per year through remittance fees and with BigPay we can change that. Financial inclusion is a cornerstone of BigPay and offering low-cost, accessible money transfers is part of that strategy.”
Despite the announcement, the function seems to be still grayed out within the app.

In a media statement sent to us, BigPay claims to be one of the first fintechs in Malaysia to receive approval from Bank Negara to use eKYC for remittance which will allow BigPay customers to submit all documents electronically.
However, as of publishing time, BigPay’s licensing in Bank Negara Malaysia’s site does not list BigPay as one of the licensees allowed to conduct eKYC.
We’ve reached out to BigPay for further comments.
Update: Representatives of BigPay informed us that the remittance function will be made live between 12.00pm -2.00pm. BNM’s site has since been updated to reflect that BigPay is permitted to conduct eKYC.
2nd Update: The function has since gone live within the app, alongside the remittance feature, the bank transfer feature has also gone live.
Featured image credit: BigPay Facebook page

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Digital Transformation

UOB and The Finlab Selects 16 Local SMEs for Their Jom Transform Programme

									by Fintech News Malaysia
September 24, 2019
0 comments

United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) today announced the 16 businesses selected to participate in The FinLab’s Jom Transform Programme.
The businesses selected to participate in the Jom Transform Programme are from a wide range of sectors including food manufacturing and distribution, food and beverage, healthcare, business consulting, automotive, logistics, and manufacturing.
Each expressed a willingness to explore new ways of doing business and to adopt technology for increased productivity. By implementing digital solutions, they hope to improve their workflow processes, to drive sales and customer loyalty and to create greater brand awareness. The small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also plan to harness technology to optimise their inventory, distribution and human resource management systems.

The SMEs participating in the Jom Transform Programme will be subsidised by UOB Malaysia. The businesses will also be mentored by the programme’s partners, which include the Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Maxis, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and SME Corporation Malaysia.
During the three-month Jom Transform Programme, the owners and key decision-makers of the 16 businesses will be matched with technology partners to pilot and to assess the effectiveness of their digital solutions. Upon completing the Jom Transform Programme, the businesses will share their outcomes and learnings with the public at a ‘Showcase Day’.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said the Jom Transform Programme is part of the Bank’s commitment to help businesses overcome their business transformation challenges for better productivity and sustainable growth.
Wong Kim Choon
“At UOB, we are committed to supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises progress through their different stages of growth. Having served the SME community in Malaysia for more than six decades, we have a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges they face.
In particular, as family-owned businesses transition from the first- to second-generation leadership, we see an accelerated use of technology in their business. Yet many business leaders lack the skills to implement digital solutions successfully and effectively. Through the Jom Transform Programme, we aim to help Malaysian businesses better harness technology to drive business growth and to prepare for the future,”
Mr Wong said.
The FinLab first ran its business transformation programme in Singapore in 2015 and then in Thailand in early 2019. In Malaysia, the Jom Transform Programme was launched in June 2019 and received interest from more than 900 businesses across the country.
Pauline Sim
Ms Pauline Sim, Co-Head, The FinLab, said,
“The FinLab is excited to offer this programme to Malaysian businesses. Over the past few months, we had the privilege of meeting many business owners and we see a common desire to develop a long-term strategic roadmap for business transformation, with digital adoption central to their plans. Bringing our track record in helping businesses across ASEAN grow, we will work closely with the Malaysian businesses to run pilot projects with our tech solution providers and to help them accelerate the innovation process.”

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Lending
WealthTech

EdgeProp First Property Crowdfunding to Receive Approval in Principle from SC

									by Vincent Fong
September 25, 2019
0 comments

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today announced that it has registered EdgeProp Sdn Bhd (EdgeProp) as the first Recognised Market Operator to establish and operate a property crowdfunding platform in Malaysia, following the revision of the SC’s Guidelines on Recognised Markets in May 2019.
This news follows EdgeProp’s earlier launch of the controversial P2P property crowdfunding platform, FundMyHome.
EdgeProp was granted an approval in principle in September 2019. PCF is an initiative announced in Budget 2019 to provide an alternative financing avenue for first-time homebuyers through a property crowdfunding scheme.

In a media statement, Securities Commission Malaysia pointed out that property crowdfunding offers the same potential as that of ECF and P2P financing platforms in providing an alternative source of financing but is specifically tailored for first-time homebuyers. At the same time, it will provide investors access to a new investment option, they added in the statement.
However, some quarters within the industry have doubts about the efficacy of the platform both as a enabler first-time home buyer and as an investment.
Securities Commission Malaysia reiterated that it is an offence under the securities laws to operate a property crowdfunding platform without authorisation from the regulator. Any persons found to be in breach may be liable to a fine not exceeding RM10 million or imprisonment term not exceeding ten years or both.

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Insurtech

AXA Affin Unveils its Latest Digital Offering Targetting Young Families

									by Fintech News Malaysia
October 1, 2019
2 comments

Following the success of its earlier launch of their online medical card AXA eMedic in April 2018, AXA Affin today unveiled their AXA eMedic Family plan.
Similar to their earlier digital product, the AXA eMedic family plan can be purchased digitally within 10 minutes and is priced affordably with prices as low as RM 150 per month for a family of four with coverage up to RM 100,000.
Rohit Nambiar
Our vision is to be the preferred health and protection insurer in Malaysia especially for millennials. With the advancement of new technology, parents do not have to go through the hassle of filling up multiple forms or even going through different complex products to ensure their family is protected. With AXA eMedic Family Plan, all these can be managed and easily accessible in just a few clicks. We hope more Malaysians can now be better prepared against rising cost of medical fees with this affordable medical family plan.
said Rohit Nambiar, Chief Executive Officer of AXA AFFIN Life Insurance.

Since its launch last year, over 4,000 policies were issued to young professionals and they have since enjoyed 70% market share of digital life protection, according to statistics from Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM).
Initially launched for millennials aged 16 – 39 years old, AXA eMedic has gone through several enhancements throughout the 18 months. The product was made available for children as young as 15 days and expatriates shortly after two months it was introduced in the market. Based on encouraging demand from the public, the age eligibility was extended up to 49 years old in June this year.

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