KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Malaysia has launched a platform for issuing, holding, and safekeeping ownership of tokenised bonds and sukuk with round-the-clock payment and settlement services.

The platform dubbed SSDS+ is designed to simplify transactions, enable greater flexibility in the design of financial instruments, and broaden access to investment opportunities, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement. The platform was developed in-house, the central bank noted.

SSDS+ manages tokenised securities transfer and ownership records of digital securities, while the integration with Rentas+ facilitates the corresponding secure transfer of payments for bond purchases in central bank money, BNM said.

Tokenisation mainly refers to securities and the rights associated with them as digital tokens on a ledger. For bonds and sukuk, tokenisation allows ownership and transfers to be recorded digitally using distributed ledger technology, which maintains a shared record across a network.

Rentas, short for Real Time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities, was introduced in 1999 while Rentas+ was launched in October 2025 to allow interbank fund transfers and settlement 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

SSDS+ was built on the existing Scripless Securities Depository System, which serves Malaysia’s wholesale financial market. Beyond wholesale issuances, the new platform is also ready to support tokenised government and retail bonds, BNM said.

Together, SSDS+ and Rentas+ “provide a secure, faster, more flexible and digitally enabled foundation for new use cases in securities and payments”, said BNM governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.

The platforms will support “innovation and contribute to more efficient and responsive financial markets”, he added.