BANK Negara Malaysia has announced the five successful applicants for a digital bank licence, of which three are majority-owned by Malaysian companies.

The following applicants, as approved by Minister of Finance Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, are to be licensed under the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA):

• Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd
• a consortium led by GXS Bank and Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd
• a consortium led by Sea Ltd and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile the following two applicants are to be licensed under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA):

• a consortium led by Aeon Financial Service Co Ltd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd and MoneyLion Inc
• a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank Sdn Bhd.

The three Malaysian-led concerns are Boost Holdings and RHB Bank, Sea and YTL Digital Capital, and KAF Investment Bank.

Some 29 banks had applied for the licence, while Bank Negara had previously stated that only five “tech-heavy and tech-savvy” companies would be granted permission to set up shop.

The central bank was to have named the licensees on March 30 but put it off to complete “the legal process”.

Among the requirements is a minimum RM100 million in capital funds in the foundation phase, which must have reached RM300 million by the third year of operation. – April 29, 2022.