Visa, Malaysian Islamic banking association on the lookout for best fintech startups in ASEAN

By Sainul Abudheen K for E27.com

The competition is open to residents of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam

Global payments technology company Visa has partnered with the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) to launch the ASEAN Fintech Challenge, in conjunction with the Global Islamic Finance Forum 2016 (GIFF), from May 10-12 in Kuala Lumpur.

The challenge, organised by Nxt Bnk KL, aims to bring the best and most innovative fintech startups from the region to compete in the capital city. The teams will get the opportunity to present their ideas to over 500 GIFF delegates from all over the world.

The competition is open to residents of the 10 member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The pitching sessions are open to the delegates, with decisions made by a panel of judges.

Seven teams will be selected for the semifinals, with three shortlisted for the finals. The winners will receive cash prizes.

“The most exciting innovations happen at the edge of the payments network. The partnership with AIBIM will enable us to collaborate with the fintech community and speed up the cycle of financial innovation in the country and the Southeast Asia region,” said Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia.

“GIFF presents a great opportunity for fintech startups to showcase their offerings for Islamic finance, which is rapidly gaining traction in Muslim-majority nations and international financial centres. The forum has attracted over 500 delegates, many of them in the Islamic finance industry, who will be able to partner with these startups to take their services to the next level,” said AIBIM’s Executive Director, Yusry Yusoff.

Established in 1996 as the Association of Interest Free Banking Institutions Malaysia, AIBIM currently has 25 member banks. The organisation promotes sound Islamic banking system and practice in Malaysia; represents interest of members locally and abroad; provides advice and assistance to members pertinent in the development on Islamic banking and finance at local, regional and global level; coordinates human capital development initiatives; and promotes public awareness.

Nxt Bnk KL is an independent, open and collaborative community driving change for the better in financial services through design, innovation and entrepreneurship. Its network includes startups, early stage to institutional investors, regulators, financial institutions, government agencies and members of the FinTech community. It is part of a global community with presence in six global regions, having hosted more than 16 events worldwide with association to 64 global brands. It has also held up to 243 talks within the community of 10,000 Next Bankers.

First appeared at e27.com