Bank Rakyat has launched the Bank Rakyat Fintech Community Hub in collaboration with the Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM), Plug and Play and PayNet, creating a structured platform to strengthen engagement with digital startups and accelerate the development and rollout of new financial products.

The Fintech Community Hub is designed to provide Bank Rakyat with continuous access to evaluated digital financial solutions, supporting the bank’s wider digital transformation agenda and its focus on improving customer experience.

The initiative also aims to create a more consistent approach to working with fintech companies by establishing standardised engagement, governance and commercial models. This is intended to help the bank identify promising innovations more efficiently and scale solutions that demonstrate strong potential.

An early outcome of the collaborative approach is the integration of Bank Rakyat’s Shariah-compliant Personal Financing-i application into the BigPay digital wallet. Through this integration, BigPay users can apply for credit directly within the digital wallet, providing a more convenient and seamless customer experience.

The Fintech Community Hub forms part of Bank Rakyat’s LEAD30 aspirations, which include strengthening the bank’s competitiveness and enhancing customer experience as financial services become increasingly digital.

The initiative brings together a combination of banking expertise, fintech industry knowledge, innovation capabilities and digital payment infrastructure. Through collaboration with FAOM, Plug and Play and PayNet, Bank Rakyat can engage more systematically with startups and other technology partners across the financial ecosystem.

Ahmad Shahril Mohd Shariff, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bank Rakyat, described the initiative as an evolution towards a more comprehensive fintech ecosystem. He highlighted the role of strategic collaboration and innovation in enabling Bank Rakyat to expand its fintech engagement and pursue opportunities at greater scale.

The Fintech Community Hub represents a broader move towards structured innovation within financial services, creating opportunities for banks and fintech companies to collaborate on solutions that can improve accessibility, convenience and the overall customer experience.

(Source: Fintechnews.my)