Digital Payments & Fintech - Malaysia

Licensing regimeFinancial Services Act 2013 (FSA) and Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA), administered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM); Consumer Credit Act 2025 (BNPL) under the Consumer Credit Oversight Board (CCOB)

Malaysia operates a clear, mature licensing/approval regime for digital payments and fintech, anchored in the FSA/IFSA 2013 and supervised by the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia. Payment system operators, e-money issuers and merchant acquirers require BNM approval or registration; the country also runs a national real-time payments infrastructure (DuitNow/PayNet), has licensed five digital banks, and as of March 2026 brought buy-now-pay-later under the new Consumer Credit Act 2025.

Approval regime for payment systems & instruments

Under s.11 FSA/IFSA, operators of payment systems and issuers of designated payment instruments (debit, credit, charge cards and e-money) must obtain BNM approval before commencing operations; s.17 FSA requires merchant acquirers to register with BNM.

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E-money issuer (EMI) licensing

BNM's Electronic Money policy document sets prudential and conduct requirements for EMIs approved under s.11 FSA/IFSA, covering fund safeguarding, reliability and consumer/merchant protection.

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Instant-payment rails (DuitNow / PayNet)

Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet), in which BNM is the largest shareholder, operates the national real-time retail payments platform DuitNow, plus FPX online payments, interbank GIRO, JomPAY, MyDebit and interoperable DuitNow QR.

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Digital banking licences

Under a dedicated Licensing Framework, BNM/the Minister of Finance awarded five digital bank licences (three under FSA, two Islamic under IFSA); GX Bank, Boost Bank and AEON Bank have since commenced operations.

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BNPL / consumer credit regulation

The Consumer Credit Act 2025 (gazetted 31 Dec 2025, in force 1 March 2026) brings buy-now-pay-later and other credit providers under the new Consumer Credit Oversight Board (CCOB), jointly led by the Ministry of Finance and BNM; licensing of credit providers is set to take effect from June 2026.

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Open finance (in progress)

BNM is moving from voluntary Open API publishing of open data toward a broader consent-based Open Finance framework, with an Exposure Draft on Open Finance issued in 2025; this component is still being finalised.

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Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/23/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →