In April 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia announced that five consortiums would be given the digital banking license in Malaysia. GXS Bank Pte.Ltd. is one of the successful applicants. GXS Bank Pte. Ltd. is a digital bank joint venture between Malaysian ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings and Singaporean telecommunication operator Singtel. GX Bank is also the first digital bank to receive approval from the Minister of Finance and BNM to begin its operations.
Yesterday, it was available for use in Malaysia in the beta version. Users could download GX Bank on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The successfully selected 20,000 users who signed up for the app will be able to receive benefits.
The difference between a digital bank and a traditional one is that a digital bank has no physical branches and is done online or through a mobile app. Hence, GX Bank operates entirely online and does not have any physical locations. It also provides benefits such as flexibility and simplicity compared to traditional banking.
The digital bank, in fact, has proven to be a major crowd-puller. A digital bank in Singapore, Trust Bank, has seen massive and fastest growth since its operation a year ago. It has more than 600,000 customers and roughly 12% of the addressable market in Singapore, according to Tech Wire Asia.
GXBank seeks to meet the requirements of unserved and underserved individuals in addition to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs). The digital-only bank will also provide a variety of channels for consumers to receive support, such as a bank app and 24/7 customer service across several platforms.
Currently, the good thing about GX Bank is that users with existing bank accounts could start using it with a RM10 deposit registered under their own name. It also offers users the ability to earn a high 3.00% per year interest rate daily in their accounts. However, it will only be credited to users’ accounts daily if the daily interest is at least RM0.01. That means a user must reload at least RM122 to get the minimum RM0.01 interest daily.
Not to worry, GXBank is protected by Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PDIM) up to RM250,000 for each depositor. It is also licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia. The “Pockets” feature, similar to what Maybank2u offers in the MAE app, is also provided in the app. Users can set up to 10 “Pockets” for their saving goals and earn daily interest up to 3%.
Users can also set daily spending limits and lock their accounts in case of fraud. In addition, GX Bank is providing thrilling perks, including exemptions from withdrawal fees, unrestricted cashback with the future debit card function, and a RM20 reward with a minimum RM100 deposit. Grab users will have more benefits when it is linked with GX Bank. They will gain up to 6 months of the GrabUnlimited subscription plan, which costs RM27 for 6 months (promotion price). Also, free delivery vouchers, deals in the app and up to 1.5x GrabRewards points will be earned.
Since the app is still new and is currently in beta testing, it does not have the feature to allow DuitNow QR transactions, but only with DuitNow transfers. There is also no online or offline spending on a debit Mastercard or Visa card. However, soon in the future, they will have a debit card feature, which will have no processing fee since RM1 will be waived.
