Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Financial institutions and financial technology (fintech) players are intensifying their focus on expanding across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), adopting tailored strategies to strengthen their presence in the region’s digital financial services landscape.
At the MyFintech Week 2025 in Malaysia, CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Malaysia CEO Gurdip Singh Sidhu said the bank is scaling its ASEAN presence through both physical expansion and cross-border digital offerings, a strategy that has enabled it to serve over 50 million users across the region.
At a media panel session titled “Going Beyond Borders: How Fintechs and Financial Institutions are Redefining Regional Scale” held on the sidelines of the MyFintech Week 2025, he said his bank may historically be viewed as a legacy financial institution, but it is accelerating its digital transformation.
At the same time, the bank also the largest investor in Touch ‘n Go Digital, which operates the largest e-wallet in Malaysia, and functions as a non-bank digital super app, facilitating smoother transactions.
With Touch ‘n Go eWallet now supported on the Alipay+ platform, cross-border payments are seamless for both foreign visitors and Malaysians abroad, while also enabling local small and medium enterprises to accept payments from international customers, he said.
Jake Xue, Ant International general manager of global business services and support, said the company is expanding its cross-border payment infrastructure and digital financial services to connect 1.7 billion users with over 100 million merchants worldwide.
Malaysia is strategic to the company’s global vision, not only as a gateway to ASEAN, but also as a source of diverse and digitally savvy talent, he said, adding that the company plans to grow its Malaysian team to 1,000 employees by the yearend, up from 800 currently.
President of the Fintech Association of Malaysia Anil Singh Gill said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is now globally recognised as one of the most solid and competent regulators in terms of financial governance for both institutions and fintechs.
BNM currently has clear guidelines such as technology risk management. However, Malaysia still needs more open financial policies to enhance competitiveness and ensure transparency.
MyFintech Week 2025 took place in Malaysia from August 4 - 7, gathering nearly 1,000 industry leaders, regulators and innovators to explore the future of finance and technology./.
