A Practical Guide to Fintech in Malaysia & Asia

What "Fintech" Means

Fintech — financial technology — refers to software and digital services that deliver or improve financial activities: moving money, lending, saving, investing, insuring and managing risk. It spans everything from a mobile wallet on a phone to the infrastructure that settles payments between banks.

The Main Segments

Payments and e-money Digital wallets and account-to-account transfers. In Malaysia, e-money issuers and payment services are regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Lending and financing Includes peer-to-peer (P2P) financing for businesses, buy-now-pay-later, and digital lending. P2P financing in Malaysia is regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).

Wealth and investing Robo-advisers and digital investment platforms — in Malaysia, "Digital Investment Managers" are licensed by the SC.

Insurtech, regtech and infrastructure Digital insurance distribution, compliance technology, and the open-banking / data-sharing rails that connect providers.

Who Regulates What in Malaysia

Malaysia uses a "twin" structure:

• Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) oversees banks, payment systems, e-money and the digital banks.
• Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) oversees capital-market activity, including P2P financing, equity crowdfunding (ECF) and digital investment management.

Two milestones: in 2015 Malaysia became the first ASEAN country to introduce a regulatory framework for equity crowdfunding, and in April 2016 the SC added a framework for P2P financing as Chapter 13 of its Guidelines on Recognized Markets, effective 2 May 2016. The SC publishes the current register of P2P, ECF and digital-investment operators on its "Digital Initiatives" page; in September 2026 it listed 20 registered P2P financing operators.

Digital Banks

On 29 April 2022, BNM announced five digital bank licences: three under the Financial Services Act 2013 (the Boost–RHB consortium, the GXS Bank–Kuok Brothers consortium, and the Sea–YTL consortium) and two under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (the AEON consortium and the KAF-led consortium). All five are now operating: GXBank went live in September 2023, Boost Bank in January 2024, AEON Bank in May 2024, and KAF Digital Bank and Ryt Bank (YTL–Sea) in August 2025. Their stated focus is serving underserved segments and improving financial inclusion.

Regional Connectivity

Across ASEAN, central banks have been linking national real-time payment and QR systems. Malaysia's DuitNow is connected to Thailand's PromptPay (cross-border QR payments, launched June 2021), Indonesia's QRIS (commercial launch May 2023) and Singapore's PayNow (QR payments from March 2023, account-to-account transfers from 17 November 2023). This lowers friction for cross-border commerce and remittances.

Sources

• SC Malaysia, "SC introduces regulatory framework to facilitate peer-to-peer financing", 13 April 2016: https://www.sc.com.my/resources/media/media-release/sc-introduces-regulatory-framework-to-facilitate-peer-to-peer-financing
• SC Malaysia, Digital Initiatives (register of P2P, ECF and DIM operators): https://www.sc.com.my/development/digital/digital-initiatives
• Bank Negara Malaysia, "Five successful applicants for the digital bank licences", 29 April 2022: https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/digital-bank-5-licences
• Bank Negara Malaysia, cross-border QR payment linkage with Thailand (2021) and Indonesia (2023): https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/cross-border-qr-payment-linkage-between-malaysia-and-thailand and https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/duitnow-qris-link-my-id
• Monetary Authority of Singapore, launch of PayNow–DuitNow linkage, 17 November 2023: https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2023/launch-of-cross-border-real-time-payment-systems-connectivity-between-singapore-and-malaysia

This guide is educational and general in nature. Always verify current rules and licensed providers via the official BNM and SC websites.