KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): GX Bank Bhd, Malaysia’s first digital bank, said it has amassed more than 750,000 customers, who have set up more than 800,000 “savings pockets” by the end of July this year.

This is about eight months following its launch to the Malaysian public in November last year — the first of the five Bank Negara Malaysia licensees to do so — earning 100,000 users within its first two weeks of debut.

Customers have conducted more than 13 million transactions collectively via GX Card and QR code to date. The growth signifies Malaysians’ preference for digital banking services, said GXBank chairperson Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan.

Zaiton was speaking at the launch of the GX Untuk Semua initiative, a centre of excellence that is part of the digital bank’s RM1.5 billion investments into Malaysia over the next five years.

GX Untuk Semua is designed to focus on nurturing local tech talent, developing core competencies and best-in-class industry practices, and innovative solutions to address financial access and sustainable solutions for the underserved.

Some of the competencies and solutions that will be introduced are AI-based solutions for risk and fraud management, and personal and micro, small and medium enterprises lending solutions.

“While we are excited to introduce GX Untuk Semua, it is more than a national aspiration or a tech hub to us,” said Zaiton. “Backed by a talented workforce of more than 95% Malaysians, we are at the forefront of addressing real financial needs of every Malaysian.”

The event was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and attended by Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, and Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo. Also present at the occasion was Grab's chief executive officer, co-founder and chairman Anthony Tan.

Anwar said he is proud of the progress of digital banks and the reach of GXBank beyond the professionals and the upper class, to the young, the underserved, and Grab drivers.

“This [financial inclusion] will benefit them in terms of the bank’s facilities that they will have access to,” Anwar said during his speech. “They may not be worth tens of millions, but this will mean a lot to them.”