Exploring Digitalization of Malaysian Banking and Fintech Companies' Services from the Customer's Perspective

This paper aims to explore the process of digitalization of the financial services provided by Malaysian banks and FinTech companies and to address the issues and challenges they face. Both secondary and primary sources are used in this study, where the latter represented by questionnaires and in-depth interviews with the banking and FinTech practitioners. The qualitative aspects of the Analytical Network Process method are used to identify and analyze economic, regulatory, and operational issues faced by banks and FinTech institutions in the process of digitalizing financial services. The findings provide useful insights on whether the policies set by Bank Negara of Malaysia either accelerate or hinder the growth of Malaysia’s digital finance sector. The challenges faced by banks and FinTech companies, while digitalizing their financial services, are quite similar. They include the concerns of cyber security, lack of customer readiness in utilizing the financial services, particularly in rural areas, and the need for financial authorities to maintain stronger consumer and investor protection due to high pace of evolution of financial technology. It was also noted that customers have evolving expectations towards digital financial services, because they want seamless digital banking solutions to meet their daily needs. Previous studies had their focus on the benefits and impact of digital finance on financial inclusion as well as financial innovation. This research takes a different approach as it reflects on the impact of digitalization of financial services provided by banks and FinTechs through the prism of customer perspective.The authors would like to thank Tun Ismail Ali Chair Research Grant (TIACRG) 2021 for giving them the grant to conduct a research entitled "Does Digital Finance Reduce or Amplify the Existing Risks in the Formal Financial Sector?