Crossing the first milestone in Malaysia’s digibank race

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Hello reader,

When was the last time you physically stepped into a bank branch?

Aside from having to deposit the money I received from relatives during the recent Lunar New Year festivities, I actually haven’t had to go down to the bank in nearly two years. While that’s partially due to Covid-19, it’s primarily because almost everything I need to do with my bank can now be done online.

Digital banking has made accessing financial services easier than ever, and it has created opportunities to close the gaps when it comes to financial inclusion.

Countries all over the globe are looking into issuing digital banking licenses, hoping to leverage tech in order to make financial services accessible to underserved and underbanked people. Malaysia is no exception.

The Southeast Asian nation has just taken its first step towards making digital banks a reality with its announcement of the successful applicants for its digital banking license last week.

Today we look at:

• The latest updates from Malaysia’s digital banking race
• The mental health startup that’s Meta’s first investment in Southeast Asia
• Other newsy highlights such as the latest in Didi’s woes and JD.com’s special cash dividend

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The state of Malaysia’s digital banking race

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Last week, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the nation’s central bank, announced the five successful applicants for its maiden digital banking license.

The results were somewhat surprising, but at least on paper, featured a good mix of Malaysian- and foreign-controlled entities, allaying concerns of political interference that had dogged the central bank ever since its open tender call for the licenses.

• A motley crew: Out of the five chosen consortia, three were majority-owned by Malaysians, namely Boost-RHB Bank, YTL Digital Capital-Sea, and the KAF consortium. The other two are the partnership between GSX Bank (the Grab and Singtel digital bank) and Kuok Brothers, and the Aeon consortium.

Meta for mental health

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