Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, recently granted a remittance license to global fintech company TransferWise, making Malaysia only the fourth location in Asia to offer the service after Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
Business Insider reported that TransferWise, which claims to offer international transfers at “real exchange rates” with no hidden fees, said in a June statement that the firm would be launching remittances from Malaysia starting this year.
The service currently only enables users to transfer funds to Malaysia but not out of the country.
TransferWise, based in the United Kingdom, noted that the top five sources of remittances to Malaysia in the past year were Australia, the UK, Singapore, the United States and the eurozone.
Securing approval from the Malaysian government now allows the company to facilitate transfers from Malaysia to 71 other nations at what it calls the “real, mid-market” exchange rate, defined as the rates which can be found on Google or Reuters.
The transfers can also be carried out without hidden exchange rate markups that banks and remittance providers typically charge.
Additionally, TransferWise says the license allows its Malaysian customers to open accounts simply by submitting documents online using the firm’s website or mobile app. These use electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) systems rather than requiring users to show up in person at a physical branch.
Venkatesh Saha, head of Asia-Pacific expansion for TransferWise, noted that the company will be collaborating with the central bank to launch other financial services, such as the multi-currency e-wallet Borderless that enables money holding and transfers in 49 different currencies
Source: www.businessinsider.sg
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