What if you could open a bank account, earn competitive savings interest, and manage your finances entirely from your smartphone and without ever stepping into a bank branch?
Well thats digital banks.
Introduction
Global Fintech have adopted quickly in terms of getting involved into digital banks. A few notable ones like Revoult , where it act as a suite of foreign exchange and banking tools globally. In Asia , there have been widely adopted from each nation itself.
In 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia announced the five successful applicants for the digital bank licenses that have been approved by the Minister of Finance Malaysia.
- GXBank Malaysia – backed by Grab and Singtel
- Boost Bank – backed by Boost and RHB
- AEON Bank – backed by AEON Financial Service
- KAF Digital Bank – backed by KAF Investment Bank consortium
- Ryt Bank – backed by YTL Group
Fast forward to 2026, a time where the majority of people own a smartphone, many services have shifted online, and banking is no exception. Digital banks are designed to operate entirely through mobile applications, allowing users to manage their finances anytime more easier.
Besides, they also offered a better competitive savings interest included daily return to our accounts. With a strong focus on mobile optimisation, digital banking also provides a simpler and more convenient user experience.
Here are a brief comparision between Digital Banks and Convetional Banks.
Is Digital Bank Safe?
For banks , the most important feature is they are safe enough to be used by keeping a big amount of money. These digital banks have been licensed and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia since 2024, ensuring that they operate under the same regulatory framework as traditional banks.
Malaysia Five Digital Banks Comparision
On September 2025, the final release of Ryt Bank to Malaysian marks the final available Digital Banks to be launch on the market. All these digital banks share different functionalities and purposes for Malaysians as they try to capitalize on the growing demand for convenient, low-cost, and digitally driven financial services.
What Makes These Digital Banks Attractive?
Ryt Bank itself provides around 3% p.a. as base interest on main account balance, plus additional 1% p.a. = bonus interest. While the amount may not be huge, it is still higher compared to many traditional savings accounts offered by conventional banks. Moreover, they do not have any lock-in period will ensure your fund to be highly liquid.
Next is regarding overseas transactions, Ryt Bank offered a 1.2% unlimited cashback overseas on spending , which is great enough for frequent overseas travellers.
If you’re a frequent AEON mall shopper, AEON Bank offers benefits that can be especially useful when shopping at AEON supermarkets or retail outlets.
Heavy Grab users may also find themselves using GXBank more frequently, as it is integrated with the Grab ecosystem. Grab car, Grab Food , Jaya Grocer you named it where they will all be integrated together into this strong ecosystem.
For Boost bank though ,they are more focused on the e-wallet ecosystem. Here are some of their special features available.
- Rewards and Perks will be given based on total usage of the platform transaction
- Levelling Up from Red Recruit to Platinum Resident to enjoy the highest of 4.0% p.a. daily interest
- Redemption of gifts through their BoostUP Rewards from stars collection
Lastly, KAF Digital Bank focuses on Syariah-compliant digital banking, where returns are provided through hibah (a discretionary gift) rather than conventional interest.
For instance, the bank previously displayed a historical hibah rate of 5.00% per annum on the first RM2,000 and 3.00% per annum on balances above RM2,000. But there are reports that KAFInvestment Bank is looking to sell KAF Digital Bank where there are few buyers on negotiation basis. So we should be more cautious on it.
My Choice
I currently have all five digital banks installed on my phone. However, I have only tried four of them so far, with the exception of KAF Bank as I find it less attractive.
Personally I rated Ryt Bank, GX Bank , Aeon Bank, Boost Bank and KAF from best to least usage. I use Ryt Bank more often as they provides me a 3.00% per annum +1.00% per annum where I would park a certain amount of money within the bank for some daily returns.
For other purposes , I will use WISE as my travel card which they are not originate from Malaysia for my overseas spending. Me , myself did experimented on Ryt Bank and Gx Bank as an for comparing travel rates from between this banks. Here is the exchange rate I use during my short getaway in Thailand. between GX Bank and Wise
From the example below , both enjoy almost the same rate , but with GX Bank cashback , its defitnely worthy to choose GX Bank as your travel card.
Shopping purposes for points accumulation , if i manage to went AEON mall , i will just pay using the AEON bank apps for point accumulation. As im not a frequent Jaya Grocer shopper due to less availability around my area, i would use GX Bank for topping up money. Please refer to above to accumulate more points.
Overall , RYT Bank were widely used by me as saving pockets and travel card purpose. Whereas if required to use services from Grab or shopping at Aeon , i will just use GX Bank and Aeon Bank respectively.
Conclusion
Digital banks in Malaysia are still relatively new but are gradually becoming an alternative option for users who prefer convenience, faster account opening, and digital-first banking services. I think we should capitalise well based on their perks and rewards that are still available.
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Kachingss
