Grab-Singtel, Sea consortiums win Malaysia digital bank licences
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Two Singapore-based consortiums are among five winners that bagged Malaysia's digital bank licences.
According to Bank Negara Malaysia yesterday, a consortium led by GXS Bank and Kuok Brothers and another consortium led by Sea Limited and YTL Digital Capital were among the five.
GXS Bank is a Grab-Singtel consortium, while Sea is e-commerce platform Shopee's parent company. Both companies secured Singapore digital bank licences in 2020.
The other three winners are a consortium of e-wallet company Boost Holdings and RHB Bank; a consortium of Aeon Financial Service, Aeon Credit Service and United States-listed fintech company MoneyLion; and a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank.
Boost is a unit of Malaysia's telecommunications group Axiata, while MoneyLion was co-founded by Malaysian Foong Chee Mun.
A total of 29 consortiums applied for the digital bank licences in June 2020.
In a statement, Bank Negara Malaysia said the assessment criteria cover the applicants' character and integrity, nature and sufficiency of financial resources, soundness and feasibility of business and technology plans, and ability to address financial inclusion gaps.
The successful applicants will undergo a period of operational readiness to be validated by Bank Negara Malaysia through an audit before they can start operations. The process may take 12 to 24 months.
With the awarding of digital bank licences, the central bank's governor, Ms Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, expects the digital bank operators to further advance Malaysia's financial inclusion.
"By adopting digital technology more widely for everyday transactions, we can significantly increase opportunities for our society to participate in the economy - by overcoming geographical barriers, reducing transaction costs and promoting better financial management," she said. "Digital banks can help individuals and businesses gain better access to more personalised solutions backed by data analytics. As businesses move online, digital banking also provides a safer and a more convenient way to transact."
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