Inside Maybank’s digital push: Tech, trust, and transformation
Maybank’s digital strategy centers on three pillars: customer-centricity, innovation, and regional growth. This approach seeks to deepen the bank’s reach across ASEAN while embedding advanced technologies and strengthening operational resilience.
Maybank’s digital strategy centers on three pillars: customer-centricity, innovation, and regional growth. This approach seeks to deepen the bank’s reach across ASEAN while embedding advanced technologies and strengthening operational resilience.
To meet the demands of an increasingly digital customer base, Maybank has made strides in scaling its digital infrastructure to optimize connectivity and performance. Its partnership with PayNet enabled it to handle 27 million monthly e-commerce transactions in 2024, while overall API transactions reached approximately 877 million per month across various services. The bank has built an ecosystem of over 200 partners spanning home and car ownership, young families, SMEs, fintech, trade, supply chain, and the halal sector, positioning itself as a regional banking and lifestyle enabler.
Investments in cloud infrastructure have yielded significant operational gains. Infrastructure build times have been slashed from 28 days to two days, and application deployment from 40 hours to just one hour. The establishment of the MAE Digital Stand-In environment on Amazon Web Services Outpost has accelerated production setup by 75%, enhancing speed to market without compromising quality or security.
Enhancing customer journeys with hyper-personalization
Data and AI are central to Maybank’s efforts to personalize services and strengthen customer relationships. Its in-house application store and customer engagement platform allow it to tailor offerings to individual preferences, driving deeper engagement. In Malaysia alone, these efforts generated 19 million personalized interactions in 2024, with conversion rates more than doubling compared to generic outreach.
For retail customers, Maybank has introduced digital solutions to improve accessibility and convenience. Busy parents can now open children’s savings accounts online in under 10 minutes, while goal-based investment tools in Malaysia and Singapore create portfolios tailored to individual financial goals. The Car Tabung auto loan simulator provides potential buyers with a full view of ownership costs to support informed decision-making.
In the SME space, Maybank has launched Salaam Market in collaboration with Borong, enabling businesses to access halal-certified products alongside tailored financial solutions. It has also rolled out the Maybank QRPay Soundbox, cloud accounting, and e-invoicing to help SMEs streamline operations and improve efficiency.
Strengthening regional connectivity
Under its Maybank Beyond Borders proposition, the bank is working to enhance cross-border digital connectivity. Malaysian customers can now make seamless QR payments in Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and China, while Cambodian customers can use DuitNow QR codes for instant retail payments in Malaysia. This has driven a fivefold increase in cross-border QR transaction value, underscoring the growing appetite for frictionless regional payments.
In Singapore, Maybank has expanded digital supply chain financing for multinational corporations under its Receivable Programme to strengthen regional trade flows. It also introduced the Maybank Trade app across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam, integrating portfolio monitoring, real-time tracking, payments, and trade finance solutions into a single dashboard. Private and Premier Wealth customers in Singapore gained access to a Wealth Dashboard for real-time portfolio management, with features including maturity monitoring, performance assessments, and transaction history.
Fostering innovation and an agile workforce
Maybank’s innovation agenda extends beyond technology to include culture and workforce transformation. Its AI Learning Hub Challenge and Digital Marketing Intelligence Programme have boosted employees’ AI and digital marketing expertise, leading to an almost threefold increase in sales conversion of new products to existing customers. Training in data analytics and advanced platforms like Oracle Analytics Server and Dataiku further support the bank’s ambition of developing a next-generation workforce.
The recently launched CX and Innovation Lab is a purpose-built space for experimentation, user testing, and rapid prototyping. Equipped with tools like eye-tracking biosensors and heatmap analysis, it facilitates agile, cross-functional innovation.
Crowdsourcing initiatives such as I(deas) of the Tiger and Impacthon encouraged Maybank employees to develop solutions in open finance, technology, and sustainability. Two notable ideas from these programs were actualized in 2024: M-GIG, a platform connecting retail customers with gig work opportunities while supporting SME workforce needs, and MAEvericks, an electric vehicle rental program offering customers EV experiences, financing options, and a 25% partner discount.
Securing banking in a risk-prone digital world
With the acceleration of digital banking comes heightened cyber risk. Maybank has prioritized security upgrades, including multi-factor authentication, removal of SMS OTP, mobile app shielding, fraud detection tools, and its new Money Lock feature to prevent unauthorized transactions. Its Zero Defect Programme monitors and troubleshoots service disruptions, supported by isolated production testing to identify potential vulnerabilities before they impact customers. In 2024, these measures contributed to a high service uptime of 99.99%.
Public education campaigns such as #JanganKenaScam have expanded Maybank’s fraud prevention outreach. Through weekly scam tips, in-branch reminders, and public service announcements on social media, the bank aims to strengthen community resilience against scams.
Building a sustainable, inclusive digital future
Malaysia Centre 4IR ESG Innovation Challenge, supporting startups developing climate resilience and waste reduction solutions for SMEs. The bank’s strategic investment in Funding Societies, Southeast Asia’s largest unified digital finance platform for MSMEs, also seeks to bridge funding gaps within local communities.
Overall, Maybank’s digital strategy reinforces its ambition to grow beyond traditional banking, creating an ecosystem of connected services underpinned by security, innovation, and hyper-personalization to support its customers across ASEAN.
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