Boost and RHB Bank have announced that its digital bank has finally gotten approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the ministry of finance. Known as Boost Bank, the digital bank will commence operations on 15 January 2024, starting with an alpha-testing phase.
According to the consortium, the alpha testing will involve employees, friends, family, and a selected group of customers. This internal testing is to “ensure optimal user experience” in the lead-up to the public launch and it is unclear exactly how many customers will be selected to participate. As of writing, no public launch date has been revealed yet.
To recap, back in 2022, BNM announced that it was giving out digital bank licences to five consortiums. These consortiums included a partnership between Axiata, the parent company of Boost, and RHB Bank, which announced that it was launching its digital bank by the end of 2023, missing the mark by just a few days. However, it did launch a prepaid Mastercard debit card a few months ago.
As for the other consortiums, the Grab-led digital bank GXBank became the first to officially launch to the public last November and is set to announce a debit card this month. AEON has also announced that its digital bank is currently in the internal testing phase while the consortium that includes Carsome said it would be launching its digital bank by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
(Source: Boost Press Release)
