Malaysia’s Deputy Finance Minister made a call to his country's banks to disrupt themselves before others do it for them.
Banks in Malaysia are increasingly facing pressures on their revenues, largely driven by shifting consumer demands, the rise of fintech, and foreign banks getting full licenses in the country under the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework.
In response to these pressures, speaking at the recent Banktech Asia conference, Malaysia’s Deputy Finance Minister YB Dato' Wira Othman Aziz said «The new reality in banking is disruption.»
He also called on the sector to rise up to the challenge by investing in technology and innovation or start evaluating commercially viable ways to collaborate with fintech startups.
Sandbox Open For Business
The Malaysian government and financial regulator have been trying hard to jump start financial technology innovations and adoption and recently licensed four companies to operate within its «regulatory sandbox,» these include foreign as well as locally run businesses.
Under a new agreement the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will work closely to share information on emerging trends and regulatory issues in digital finance.
