Finovate Global Malaysia: Payment Partnerships, Sustainable Energy Financing and More

This week’s edition Finovate Global takes a look at the latest developments in financial technology in Malaysia.

AFFIN Group announces new partnership with ACI around the world this week. The alliance aims to help modernize the real-time payments capabilities of AFFIN Bank Berhad, a subsidiary of the Group.

“A solid payments infrastructure is a catalyst for innovation and scalable growth,” said Affin Bank Berhad Group Chief Operating Officer Encik Risham Akashah Bin Kamaruzaman. “It enables AFFIN to deliver integrated, value-driven payment solutions that meet the diverse needs of today’s dynamic business landscape and customer demands. Our partnership with ACI is a significant step in our digital transformation, streamlining our operations and enhancing our customers’ payment experiences.”

The partnership will provide the bank with a new corporate payments platform that will increase the efficiency of payment processes by providing a centralized system that consolidates payment instructions from multiple channels. The technology also combines high- and low-value payments, including Affin Delivery System (ADS), AffinAlways Retail Online Banking & Mobile Online Banking, AFINMAX (online banking platform for bank companies) and ATMs

ACI Worldwide and Affin Bank also expect a significant 75% increase in efficiency through process automation and the elimination of manual tasks. This technology will enable Affin Bank to process over 20% more transactions and enable interoperability between PayNet, RENTAS and SWIFT using ISO 20022 standards.

“In the face of unprecedented regulatory change and rapid digitalization, payments modernization goes beyond a simple technology refresh; it is a strategic transformation that drives new business directions and competitive advantage,” said Leslie Choo, ACI Worldwide Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific.

ACI Worldwide debuted at Finovate at FinovateFall 2011 in partnership with MShift. The company returned to the Finovate stage for our developer conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley, in 2016. In the years since, ACI Worldwide has grown into a leading payments solutions provider processing over 225 billion consumer transactions annually and serving over 6,000 customers worldwide.

ACI Worldwide is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. The company was founded in 1975. Its CEO is Thomas Warsop.

Okapi Technologies, a Malaysian startup that facilitates financing for solar energy projects, raised an undisclosed amount of funding late last month. The fundraising was led by early-stage investor The Radical Fund, as well as angel investors Lai Chang Wen and Shaun Chong, co-founders of logistics company Ninja Van.

Okapi’s goal is to make solar energy accessible to homeowners in Malaysia and throughout Southeast Asia. The company’s platform uses embedded financing and a project management solution to connect sustainable energy investors with dealers, installers, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms in the solar industry. Okapi’s goal is to finance the installation of 100 solar power systems per month by Q1 2025.

Last year, Okapi introduced its instant approval financing product, which allowed partner installers to make instant credit decisions for individual customers via an online portal. The offering increased conversion rates, shortened sales cycles and allowed Okapi partners to focus on value-added tasks such as system design.

Lai Zhern Yung, who founded Okapi with Christopher Kwong, praised Malaysia’s “renewable energy ecosystem, stable regulatory framework and forward-looking government policies” as reasons the company chose the country as its first market in Southeast Asia. “With this raise, we will continue to innovate to democratize access to affordable solar energy for all homeowners, while creating a new asset class based on green, responsible and safe income streams for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investors around the world,” he said.

If you’re in Malaysia later this month and interested in how fintech companies in the country are innovating with blockchain technology, you’re in luck. Malaysia Blockchain Week 2024 will be held in Kuala Lumpur later this month, from July 29 to August 1.

Organized by Lydian Labs, Malaysia Blockchain Week is an opportunity for blockchain and Web3 industry leaders, government officials, and advocates to network and pursue innovative collaborations. The event will cover blockchain education, regulatory activity, and some of the more interesting blockchain and Web3 projects currently underway in the country. The audience is expected to be over 60 speakers and 2,000 attendees. Speakers include Etherscan CEO Matthew Tan, CoinGecko co-founder Bobby Ong, and Bitget CEO Gracy Chen.

In other news from Malaysia’s fintech industry, the country’s largest fintech provider TNG Digital has launched its one-stop financial centre, GOfinancingas part of its TNG e-wallet this week. The new offering comes a month after TNG Digital announced a partnership with Malaysian payments company Curlec by Razorpay to increase financial accessibility for merchants and consumers in underserved markets.

Malaysian insurtech PolicyStreet told the Ministry of Transport (MOT) this week that it plans to enter into a strategic partnership with the Road Transport Department (JPJ). This would help the company secure approval to offer road tax renewal services to customers. The company started the year by securing approval from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) to launch takaful and retakaful operations. Takaful is a form of Sharia-compliant insurance where individuals pay funds into a pool to provide financial coverage in the event of loss or damage. The approval makes PolicyStreet one of the few companies in the country offering such coverage.

Here’s our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia and Pacific

Thai fintech Ascend Money has raised $195 million in funding to expand into Southeast Asia.
Summary announced several new strategic partnerships with technology distributors in Southeast Asia, including Philippines-based Nexus Technologies.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Association of Banks in Singapore have noted a growing preference for digital tokens over one-time passwords (OTPs).

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Africa’s Tyme Bank has appointed Karl Westvig as its new CEO.
Nigerian fintech company Accelerex has launched a solution in the country that enables fingerprint payments at PoS terminals.
BankservAfrica and UnionPay International (UPI) have joined forces to enable African UPI cardholders to conduct safer and more efficient e-commerce transactions.

Central and Eastern Europe

Lithuanian company iDenfy and UAE-based SIMPal have entered into a strategic partnership to increase security in the telecommunications industry.
Israeli-Swiss fintech Okoora has announced its expansion into the Polish market.
German brokerage platform lemon.markets has raised $13 million in funding from CommerzVentures, Heliad and existing investors.

Middle East and North Africa

Abu Dhabi-based Pyypl achieved PCI-DSS V4.0 certification this week after receiving information about the company’s partnership with Visa.
Saudi fintech company EdfaPay has been granted a license to bring its financial payments solutions to Morocco.
Azimut Egypt has been granted its first fintech license by the country’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to launch a new digital investment platform, invest.

Central and South Asia

Bangladeshi fintech firm Nagad has partnered with Huawei Technologies
Digital banking services provider TBC Uzbekistan has raised $38.2 million from investors including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Emerging Europe presented a profile of the fintech ecosystem in Kazakhstan.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Uruguayan cross-border payment solutions company dLocal has announced a strategic partnership with Wakanow Group.
Yuno and Mexican company OpenPay have joined forces to improve digital payments for merchants.
Brazilian financial services company EBANX has partnered with subscription and monetization solutions provider Zuora.

Photo by Zukiman Mohamad