Grab-led GX Bank Berhad (GXBank) said Friday that it will invest MYR 1.5 billion ($333 million) into Malaysia over the next five years includes the establishment of the GX Untuk Semua initiative, further solidifying Malaysia’s position in the digital banking landscape.

The firm said in a statement that the initiative is a testament of its continued commitment to supporting Malaysia’s nation-building and KL20 vision of being a top 20 global startup hub.

It is noted that GX Untuk Semua is designed to focus on nurturing local tech talent, developing core competencies and best-in-class industry practices, and innovative solutions.

This initiative will leverage the latest in technology to address financial access and sustainable solutions for the underserved.

Some of the competencies and solutions that will be introduced are artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions for risk and fraud management, and personal and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) lending solutions.

Additionally, GX Untuk Semua will also encourage tech entrepreneurship and provide opportunities for tech-based solutions to be explored for tomorrow’s digital finance needs.

”While we are excited to introduce GX Untuk Semua, it is more than a national aspiration or a tech hub to us,

“It also symbolises the many big and small financial dreams of every Malaysian we hope to help fulfil,” said Zaiton Binti Mohd Hassan, Chairperson of GXBank.

Backed by a talented workforce of more than 95 percent Malaysians, he said they are at the forefront of addressing real financial needs of every Malaysian.

“In fact, through our financial inclusion initiative, Impian GIGih, we have provided bursaries to 1,200 recipients in Kelantan and Johor,

“Therefore, with GX Untuk Semua, we hope to harness the best of our talent and innovation to ensure no one is left behind in the digital economy era,” she noted.

According to the statement, GX Untuk Semua aims to help build this pipeline by cultivating that future potential through new early-career programs.

In line with this, Zaiton added that the bank shaped its Impian Gigih Biasiswa to nurture local talents and work with local universities.

“We look forward to sharing more about the concerted efforts under each hub in the coming months,” she further added.

According to the statement, GXBank has achieved 100,000 users within its first two weeks of debut in November 2023.

By the end of July 2024, it amassed more than 750,000 customers, who have set up more than 800,000 Savings Pockets.

In turn, these customers have conducted more than 13 million transactions collectively via GX Card and QR code.

The growth signifies Malaysians’ preference for digitalization of banking services during this era and their trust in digital banking, said the statement.

GXBank is Malaysia’s first digital bank that commenced operation on September 1, 2023.

The firm is a subsidiary of GXS Bank Pte. Ltd. – the digital bank joint venture between Grab Holdings Limited and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) – and a consortium of other Malaysian investors, including Kuok Group.

GXBank on track to establish regional center of excellence for shared services in Malaysia