KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has extended the approval period for electronic trading platforms from three to five years and made it mandatory for operators to monitor trading activities and report suspicious patterns.

The framework applies to platforms used by banks and other market participants to trade currencies and short-term financial instruments in Malaysia’s wholesale financial markets.

The changes are part of the central bank’s revised Framework for Electronic Trading Platforms (ETP), issued on Monday and effective Nov 1, 2026, replacing the previous framework introduced in November 2019.

Under the revised rules, operators must obtain prior written approval from BNM, which may grant approval for five years or another period at its discretion. Applications for renewal must be submitted at least 90 days before the approval expires.

Previously, operators were encouraged to monitor trading activities and report unusual patterns. The revised framework makes it compulsory for approved operators to monitor intraday trading and notify BNM of any irregularities or suspected suspicious trading patterns.

Operators must also submit quarterly lists of their onshore banking and non-banking users within 10 business days of the required submission date, alongside other statistical and transaction information requested by BNM.

The revised framework strengthens operational and governance requirements, including user due diligence, cybersecurity, data protection and business continuity planning. Operators must retain transaction and trade dispute records for seven years and notify BNM immediately of any system disruption, followed by updates on remedial actions.

Approved operators must also inform BNM before implementing changes to information previously submitted, including their business plans, or making changes to the scope of their platforms’ services and functions.

The framework further requires operators to conduct system testing before deployment and regular capacity testing to ensure their platforms can handle surges in trading volumes. Their boards and senior management are responsible for overseeing risk management, internal controls and regulatory compliance.

BNM said the revised framework was developed following continuous reviews and feedback from industry participants to ensure the rules remain relevant.

The policy excludes certain regulated stock exchanges in Malaysia and overseas exchanges, as well as qualifying single-bank platforms, general-purpose communication tools and white-label trading platforms operated by clients under their own brands. However, platforms operated by affiliates of overseas exchanges are not covered by the relevant exemption.