KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): From Jan 1, 2027, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) wants consumers to be able to control how their financial data — including deposit accounts, charge cards and credit cards — is shared, accessed, and used. Deposit accounts include savings, current, fixed deposits, and Islamic deposits.
According to the central bank's proposed rules for open finance, large banks, development finance institutions, and eligible e-money providers will begin sharing customer information — last 12 months of transactions (the date, description, and amount) and the current account balance — but only for customers who actively opt in.
Larger banks with more than one million individual customers will kick off the initiative, after which those with 100,000 or more individual or SME customers, development finance institutions with over 100,000 customers, and e-money issuers with over five million active users must join the initiative will follow. For all other financial players, joining is optional.
From Jan 1, 2027: Banks will share data for individuals. SME — small and medium enterprises — will be included from Jan 1, 2028.
From Jan 1, 2029: Development finance institutions and e-money issuers will share data for individuals and SMEs.
BNM aims to ensure that data sharing is secure, voluntary, and revocable, giving consumers full control over who can access their financial information.
It said consent must be specific, voluntary, explicit, and revocable; banks must provide dashboards for customers to view, renew, or revoke consent and data must be used only for agreed purposes, securely stored, and deleted once consent ends.
The framework also includes safeguards for data protection, breach notifications, and complaint handling, ensuring that financial institutions handle customer data responsibly.
It said open finance could lead to fully digital submissions and transmission of documents in lieu of manual processes.
By enabling secure, consent-driven data sharing, the central bank hopes to pave the way for a broader open data ecosystem across Malaysia, eventually benefiting both consumers and businesses.
BNM is seeking written feedback on the proposed open finance rules by March 1, 2026.