BNM nod for MoneyMatch to conduct digital remittance services

• Fintech startup has grown to a 50-person outfit and raised US$1.71 million to date
• Mixed reaction of banks to fintechs; some willing to forego revenue for long-term gain

“THE forward thinking and bold banks will evolve with the market as it changes and in some situations work very closely in partnership with fintech startups, often times even forgoing potential revenue in certain business lines by partnering with fintech startups and going for the bigger picture and longer term user engagement for their respective organisations,” said Raja Adam Malik, the chief financial officer of MoneyMatch.

MoneyMatch announced that they have been granted an approval in principle for a Class B remittance license from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to conduct digital remittance services for businesses and individuals.

The startup was the first to be approved by BNM’s Financial Technology Enabler Group (FTEG) to offer a complete digital experience from customer onboarding (eKYC) to executing transactions online. 

With fintechs growing in prominence and gaining the acceptance of regulators, Raja Adam observes that the reaction of banks and financial institutions have been mixed with some exploring opportunities with startups whilst others are attempting to innovate internally behind closed doors.

In fact, banks and financial institutions are eagerly awaiting BNM’s virtual banking license requirements expected to be released by year end. “We’ll probably see a few large commercial banks here in Malaysia launch their own digital bank versions.”

However, even as commercial banks look towards digital banking, MoneyMatch believes the agility of fintech startups is an upper edge over the large banks.

“Ultimately, we believe that there will always be room for innovation in perpetuity and it is lean fintech startups like ourselves who will hopefully be able to continue innovating and delivering the best user experiences and top of the line execution.”

As for now, MoneyMatch is still on the early the adoption curve for digital financial services. “The company is poised to build on our existing user base as we add more services and products and ultimately work towards being a multi-asset fintech startup that provides a diverse suite of financial products, akin to what a digital bank would offer.”

To date, Moneymatch has transacted over US$110 million (RM450 million) in transaction value and employes over 50 full-time staff. With their most recent investment of US$488,863 (RM2 million) from Cradle Seed Ventures, the company has raised over US$1.71 million (RM7 million) to date