Grab-led GXBank has become the first digibank to get an approval to commence operations in the country, while Ant Group has brought Alipay+ to the Philippines with four mobile wallet payment options.
Malaysia set to get its first digital bank
Grab-led GX Bank Berhad (GXBank) has obtained approval to begin operations as a digital bank in Malaysia, paving the way for it to become the first such institution in the country.
In a statement yesterday, GXBank said that the country’s finance minister and central bank — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) — had provided the approval to be effective September 1.
“Standing on Grab’s legacy of innovative tech and economic inclusion, we hope to redefine banking and reshape Malaysia’s financial landscape,” said GXBank CEO Pei Si Lai.
BNM is set to approve, by April 2024, the applications of four more consortiums that want to run digibanks in Malaysia. The consortiums include the firms Boost, Sea Group, AEON Credit Service, and KAF Investment Bank.
GXBank is a subsidiary of GXS Bank Pte Ltd, which is the digital bank joint venture between Grab Holdings Limited, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), and a consortium of other Malaysian investors, including Kuok Group.
Alipay+ ties up with four mobile wallets in PH
Ant Group, which operates global cross-border digital payments and marketing solution Alipay+, on Wednesday announced launching its services in the Philippines.
Hangzhou-headquartered Ant Group said that in the Philippines, Alipay+ will be accepting payments through four mobile wallets: Hong Kong-based AlipayHK, South Korea’s Kakao Pay, Malaysia’s Touch ‘n Go eWallet, and Alipay from mainland China.
According to Ant Group, the four mobile wallets have been in use by merchants in the Philippines since 2017.
The firm noted that according to the country’s Department of Tourism, more than 3 million tourists have visited the Philippines from January 1 to July 19, 2023, reflecting the tourism sector’s resilient and robust recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Introduced by Ant Group in 2020, Alipay+ aims to enable local businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, to process a wide range of mobile payment methods.
In addition to the Philippines, Alipay+ is also accepted in the Chinese mainland, Macao SAR, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, among others.