As part of its ROAR30 ambition, Maybank (the Bank) is developing its digital assets and tokenised money agenda as a core pillar of the Bank’s digital transformation to deliver values-based offerings and faster, more seamless and inclusive financial services.
Towards this, Maybank is launching the first Ringgit tokenised money pilot with global energy infrastructure company, Yinson Holdings Berhad (Yinson) as a participant, under Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Digital Asset Innovation Hub (DAIH). The pilot will explore on-chain cross-border payments involving Ringgit and other ASEAN deposit tokens on Maybank’s permissioned blockchain.
The initiative will assess the technical feasibility and operational readiness of executing on-chain transactions securely and in near real-time, while helping to shape the foundational design of next generation money rails and payment infrastructure.
Building on this first pilot, Maybank aims to pioneer a range of tokenised assets, including tokenised Islamic finance for businesses from large corporates to SMEs (small and medium enterprises), and retail customers, including wealth solutions.
Through programmable money, the Bank aims to empower SMEs by automating transparent payment flows from anchor clients such as governments and corporates, enabling payment transparency that can eventually unlock accessibility to financing.
For wealth clients, the Bank is exploring tokenised investment products, especially Islamic finance assets such as Sukuk and funds to enable broader participation through fractionalisation.
With its network advantages as one of the leading banks in ASEAN, Maybank aims to reduce friction in today’s transaction and payment flows, and deliver exceptional customer experiences, reinforcing its position as the gateway bank for tokenised ASEAN currencies and assets through blockchain-enabled solutions.
Dato’ Sri Khairussaleh Ramli, President and Group CEO of Maybank said, “At Maybank, our ROAR30 strategy to become the leading global Islamic finance institution, and ASEAN’s leading wealth management, transactions, payments, corporate and investment bank compels us to reimagine how money moves and what our clients demand. Together with regulators, clients and partners, and taking a holistic, pragmatic and inclusive approach, we will progressively expand digital assets and tokenisation initiatives into areas like investing, Islamic finance and supporting SMEs. We continue to work on innovation to deliver tangible benefits for our clients like Yinson and the broader real economy, while upholding the highest standards of governance, security and regulatory integrity.”
Lim Chern Yuan, Group CEO of Yinson Holdings Berhad said, “With diverse businesses and operations across multiple jurisdictions, and complex cross border treasury operations, Yinson is constantly seeking ways to optimise its financial position, manage risks, and respond swiftly to opportunities. We are open to leverage innovative technology with the support of regulators and established financial institutions like Maybank. Enabled by on-chain solutions, shorter settlement cycles to almost real-time allows Yinson to further manage working capital more efficiently and reduce foreign exchange exposure and transaction costs. We welcome the prospect of collaborating with BNM and Maybank in this pilot initiative.”
