Virtual banking: Malaysian customers take charge

2020 looks to be the year of virtual banking in Malaysia. And the first movers providing these services look nothing like the banks we know.

74%

of Malaysians are interested in becoming a customer of a virtual bank
Aged 55+ are 2x more

likely to be interested in virtual banks due to a bad experience with their current bank
Only 36%

trust that virtual banks will keep their data secure
77%

are interested in additional services provided by their banks beyond financial products

2020 looks to be the year of virtual banking in Malaysia, on the heels of the highly anticipated release of Bank Negara Malaysia’s virtual banking licensing framework in December 2019. And the first movers providing these services look nothing like the banks we know. The entrance of these new players is the biggest single disruption to the market seen in decades.

So how are consumers responding to this development? Are they ready to make the switch to virtual banks? How open are they to the idea of sharing their data with virtual banks?

Our study of banking consumers in Asia Pacific - across Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong - zoomed in on their preferences when it comes to banking with virtual banks and the opportunities for upcoming virtual banking applications. 4,534 people were surveyed, of which 1,517 respondents were from Malaysia.