As the world is now revolving around the advancement of technology and internet, many financial tools need to undergo modernisation to meet the current needs of consumers. As more and more of society’s financial transactions are becoming cashless, companies are also transforming to accommodate the changes by providing services through cyberspace. In this issue, Top 10 of Malaysia takes a brief look at its list of the top companies that provide fintech and financial services, many of which have had collaborations with prestigious establishments. These companies have achieved notable accomplishments with branches overseas and are working with well-established companies.
MYTHEO
MYTHEO was created when GAX MD and Money Design joint venture, starting a digital investment management service platform that offers automated discretionary portfolio management services to investors. Helmed by Ronnie Tan Tai Ngee, MYTHEO uses a proprietary algorithm developed by Money Design which generates optimised portfolios for each investor based on their profile, individual income and risk appetite. Each portfolio is catered to each investor’s goals and preferences. This personalised digital solution provides an ease of mind by helping users manage the nitty-gritties of investment in a data-driven manner. MYTHEO’s value proposition, ‘Invest in a Moment’ is poised to change the way Malaysians think about investing and life savings. This fintech service powered by AI, aims to promote financial literacy and inclusiveness to the underserved especially in the millennial segment, thanks to its user-friendly process and affordability. Investors can rest assure that their money and assets will be held by a custodian, Malaysian Trustees Berhad, a subsidiary of RHB Bank Bhd. and an independent trustee licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. The simplicity of MYTHEO starts from analysing the needs of the client and then works backwards to build the optimal portfolio.
MoneyMatch
Founded by a trio from diverse backgrounds in 2015, Adrian Yap, Naysan Munusamy and Ahmad Fazil Ahmad Fuad joined hands to start MoneyMatch in 2015. Though the trio comes from a diverse background, ranging from investment banking to creative digital marketing, they shared a vision of introducing solutions that would disrupt the traditional finance industry. They strongly believe that people deserve a better cross-border payments service than the existing ones. MoneyMatch makes international money transfer low cost, simple, and transparent. It is also a FinTech company approved by Bank Negara Malaysia and is also regulated by AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) as both a Remittance Network Provider and Independent Remittance Dealer.
Fundaztic
Co-founded Jeffrey Chew, Kristine Ng, Micheal Ooi, and Gary Tan, Fundaztic is fully owned and managed by Peoplender Sdn Bhd which is a Recognised Market Operator registered by the Securities Commission of Malaysia to operate a peer-to-peer financing platform. It aims to capitalise on technology to heighten access to both financing and investment for businesses and individuals by complementing and filling gaps of need in the ecosystem. Issuers can have access to easy financing through a fast and simple online application process, while Investors provide the funds to multiple Investment Notes in exchange for attractive returns of investments. Fundaztic intends to transform the financing ecosystem into a transparent, simple, and fair online marketplace, helping people and businesses achieve their financial goals every day.
HelloGold
HelloGold was established in 2015 as the world’s first Shariah-compliant mobile application that changes the way consumers buy, save, sell and redeem in physical gold. Founded by Robin Lee and Ridwan Abdullah, HelloGold’s product is fully shariah-compliant and it aims to enable low to medium-income customers to access financial products such as gold savings with an affordable minimum investment size. HelloGold is built on the blockchain that their key messaging is the value they bring to the customers compared to other startups that sometimes lose sight of their core proposition. While the app is easy to use, it comes with a SmartSaver function which enables automated gold savings. It has also collaborated with organisations throughout Malaysia and Thailand.
iPay88
The company is co-founded by the trio of Chan Kok Loong, Lim Kok Hing, and Chong Lee Kean in 2006. As one of the pioneers in the field of online payment gateway space in Malaysia, its role in powering Malaysia’s e-commerce growth through payments cannot be understated. Through the years, iPay88 have assisted numerous successful entrepreneurs in e-commerce and m-commerce space via its award-winning online payment ecosystem. While the company’s headquarters is located in Kuala Lumpur, it has presence in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. In 2015, Japanese tech giant NTT Data acquired iPay88 and it is one of Malaysia’s first successful exits within the fintech space.
KATSANA
KATSANA is the brainchild of Syed Ahmad Fuqaha who was inspired to develop a GPS tracking system after his brother and a friend lost their cars in 2013. KATSANA Track was released to the market in 2014 and it won a grant by Skim Permulaan Usahawan Bumiputera (SUPERB) by TERAJU, a strategic unit in the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia and awarded by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. KATSANA aims to introduce usage-based insurance to Malaysia through DriveMark which aims to track driving behaviour and allows drivers to compete with each other to win prizes and cheaper personal and motor insurance.
pitchIN
Founded by Sam Shafie and Kashminder Singh, both of whom have started and still operating WatchTower and Friends and tech startup accelerator. Since its inception in 2012, its rewards venture is one of the most successful rewards crowdfunding platforms in South East Asia. It holds records for projects that raised the most funds and for the greatest number of backers for a single project while also successfully executed a slew of groundbreaking crowdfunding projects such as the first ever Indie festival in Penang, TAPAUfest, on-demand movies Movie GoGo project, the pitchIN-MaGIC Challenge, MDeC’s social project to assist the flood victims in East Malaysia, TeeSomethingNice, the tee-shirt project in celebration of Hari Malaysia and Merdeka 2014 and helped to secure a permanent place for Wok It, a Malaysian mobile kitchen that serves quick and customised meals to raise finances to build their kitchen and to set up a permanent home.
SINEGY
Led by Kelvyn Chuah, SINEGY Technologies (M) Sdn. Bhd was incorporated as a holding company in 2017 with a mission to bring digital assets closer to Malaysia. Since then, it has enabled thousands of Malaysians to access digital assets through its exchange. Operating an officially regulated and recognised digital asset exchange in Malaysia, SINEGY serves as a fiat gateway for Ringgit Malaysia to Digital Assets. Together with its amazing partners, it is building an exciting array of trading tools and integrations designed by professional traders for a new class of digital asset investors and it aspire to be the primary venue for investors to access the most innovative range of digital asset markets.
Jirnexu
Started in 2012, Jirnexu enables banks, insurance companies, and service providers to think mobile-first and innovate the way they generate leads online, turn those leads into customers, handle their fulfilment, and keep them loyal. Consumers are empowered by Jirnexu’s financial comparison tools to save money and make better decisions. The company enjoys the unique position of being Asia’s only full stack FinTech solutions provider. Jirnexu operates Malaysia’s most popular financial marketplace RinggitPlus which provides an end-to-end online application solution for Malaysians to research, compare and select banking and insurance products. They also operate under the brand name KreditGogo in Indonesia.
BigPay
Founded by Christopher Davison, BigPay comes with a well-designed budget management function and pre-paid Mastercard which one can load and use in any merchants around the world that accepts Mastercard. Calling itself as an alternative to banking as opposed to an e-wallet, it allows one to spend, send, receive and track money anywhere in the world. It is also owned by Air Asia Group, where Tony Fernandes once said that BigPay will be worth more than Air Asia and that it will give AliPay a run for its money.
