New Digital Banks Should Address the Needs of SMEs

Datuk William Ng, Samenta chairman, says the five consortiums that won Bank Negara’s digital banking licences should focus on what the SMEs need.

The five are:

a consortium of Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd;

a consortium led by GXS Bank Pte Ltd and Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd; and

a consortium led by Sea Ltd and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd.

a consortium of AEON Financial Service Co Ltd, AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd and MoneyLion Inc and

a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank Sdn Bhd.

Digital Banks and cost of banking

“We hope these new digital banks, when operational, will focus on serving Malaysian SMEs especially micro- and online- businesses who are currently underserved.

“We also hope that with the introduction of these digital banks, the costs of banking and financing will come down, and the speed of application and approval is shortened significantly,” says Ng.

He says awarding of these digital banking licenses is a huge step forward for the financial industry, and we congratulate Bank Negara for taking this bold step to further liberalise access to banking and finance for all Malaysians.

Market-driven

“We look forward to Bank Negara speeding up the transition from a regulatory-led to a market-driven development model, so that market players are able to provide more relevant, tailor-made and timely financial solutions to businesses, without sacrificing the integrity of our financial system.

“As the oldest and largest SME association in the country, we look forward to working with these new digital banks to reach out to underserved SMEs, and provide safe, accessible and innovative products to support the SMEs’ growth and resilience,” he adds.

Photo: Ivan Samkov