SHAH ALAM (May 26): Aeon Bank (M) Bhd officially launched its digital bank on Sunday, making it the first Islamic digital bank in Malaysia.
Chief executive officer Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz said the bank aims to offer safe, simplified and inclusive shariah-compliant digital banking solutions to all Malaysians, such as savings accounts, retirement savings plans, various borrowing options, and payment services.
“This will allow us to offer financial services to our customers comprehensively. The purpose of our business is to bring finances closer to everyone, helping us achieve our mission,” she told a press conference in conjunction with the public launch ceremony here.
Raja Teh Maimunah hopes that by doing so, the digital bank can perform detailed financial analyses and achieve the goal of financial inclusion.
She also said its beta testing among the group’s employees was successful, with over 1,800 testers participating over 12 weeks.
“The (beta) test was meant to identify anything that needed to be improved and fixed. We got a lot of good feedback, including on the overall architecture.
“We did not rush the test, (and) we (also) had an alpha test before the beta test, so we know how to ensure the stability of the platform,” she added.
In a statement, Aeon Bank said it currently offers personal banking digital product services, such as Savings Account-i, Savings Pots with customisable optimisation features, and budgeting tools, with more to come in the near future.
The bank said users who activate their account will be able to immediately access their virtual Aeon Bank x Visa Debit Card-i and request their physical Debit Card-i.
Exclusively for the public launch campaign, Aeon Bank customers who activate their account will be entitled to a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Aeon Points and 3X Aeon Points, with transactions using the Aeon Bank x Visa Debit Card-i, on top of the profit rate of 3.88% per annum.
Additionally, customers who are part of the Aeon Points programme will automatically have their membership linked with the Aeon Bank (M) app, which will enable them to enjoy extra benefits and rewards when they make payments at Aeon Group’s outlets and merchants.
Aeon Bank is jointly owned by Aeon Financial Service Ltd and Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, both subsidiaries of Japan’s largest retail group, Aeon Group.
In addition to Aeon Bank, a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank Sdn Bhd also secured an Islamic digital bank licence from Bank Negara Malaysia.
The other three which won the digital banking licences are a consortium of Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd, a consortium led by GXS Bank Pte Ltd and Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd, and a consortium led by Sea Ltd and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd.
