iFast Malaysian unit gets central bank approval to operate as e-money issuer

[SINGAPORE] Malaysia-incorporated iFast subsidiary, iFast Pay Malaysia, has received in-principle approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to operate as an electronic money (e-money) issuer and hold a Money Services Business Class A license.

The approval from the Malaysian central bank is a “regulatory milestone” in the country, that paves the way for iFast to introduce payment-related services that complement its existing suite of wealth management and digital banking solutions, the group said on Friday (Aug 15)

Lim Chung Chun, chief executive and chairman of iFast, said that by harnessing technology to integrate payments into the company’s wealth management offerings, iFast aims to deliver a convenient and const-competitive solution to its customers.  

This development comes as iFast aims to develop fintech services that complement its digital banking and wealth management platforms under a three-year plan.

The digital bank said the payments segment is a “strategic focus area” as it seeks to deliver more integrated services across its B2C, B2B and iFast Global Markets platforms.

“The addition of e-payment and cross-border remittance capabilities will further strengthen the group’s ambition to deliver a comprehensive and fully integrated digital wealth management ecosystem,” iFast said.

iFast Pay Malaysia will initially focus on expanding and enhancing its multi-currency e-wallet services, prepaid cards linked to the e-wallet, and cross-border payment capabilities.

However, the group plans to strengthen the integration between its wealth management platform and its digital payment services to allow customers to move seamlessly between investing and transacting.

With the added capabilities, customers will be able to invest, earn, deposit and pay through a single platform, eliminating the need to manage multiple service providers, iFast said.

The group added that this will provide a more unified customer experience and enhance its competitive positioning against traditional banks.

iFast first entered the payments arena in 2022 with the launch of the FSMOne Singapore debit card. It later introduced the iFast Global Bank debit card in the UK in March 2025.

iFast is a global digital banking and wealth management platform, with assets under administration of S$27.2 billion as at Jun 30, 2025. Its main business divisions comprise wealth management, digital bank and ePension divisions. 

The counter ended Friday 2.8 per cent or S$0.27 higher at S$9.78.