Digital banking eraAs with other countries in the Asia-Pacific, there has been promising progress on the digital banking front in the country, with Bank Negara set to issue up to five licences to conduct digital banking business or Islamic digital banking business by first-quarter (Q1) 2022, following the release of the digital banking framework on Dec 31, 2020. On the consumer end, when it comes to market readiness and digital maturity, Malaysians are more ready than ever to embrace digital banking. Interestingly, among the possible contenders for the Malaysian digital banking licence, aside from familiar names such as Axiata and Grab, is e-commerce platform Shopee’s parent company Sea. Dr Goy comments, “This indicates that the digital economy has a profound influence on societal well-being, from resource allocation to income distribution and growth. This digital push will be a win for the country’s digital economy,” he adds.
