Fintech Association of Malaysia president Wilson Beh said the fintech market value is currently estimated at US$50 billion (RM233.63 billion).
He said the development is heavily anchored and built upon a few key milestones which have been built in the market such as the development of a real-time online fund transfer service (DuitNow) and the cross-border payment system.
“DuitNow is not only used in big cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, or George Town. Even in smaller towns, cashless transactions have become a norm.
“On cross-border payments, your e-wallet can be used to make real-time transactions in Singapore and Thailand,” he said in his keynote address at the Tech in Asia Conference 2024.
Beh said this has been done and facilitated through Project Nexus and a few key collaborations among central banks in this region.
He said the development of the electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process and the introduction of digital banks have also boosted the sector’s market.
“The eKYC has also become mainstream and a norm in Malaysia, and it will help the National ID initiative.
“We have three digital banks, I think the market is anticipating two more,” said Beh.
Meanwhile, he said Malaysia has also been constantly ranked number one in the global Islamic fintech index, underpinned by a strong Islamic finance industry.
Moving forward, he said the industry is looking out for the Consumer Credit Oversight Board (CCOB) task force’s laws and regulations.
“The CCOB under Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the housing and local government ministry will be regulating innovative business models such as the buy now pay later (BNPL),” he said.
Beh said the completion of phase three of Project Nexus will be a key development for the industry in the next few months.
“This promises the implementation of the next generation of cross-border payments, giving rise to more opportunities for a more unified Asean as an economic block.
“For Malaysia, this also has significant value especially as the country will be the Asean chair next year,” he added.