Photo by Zahid Izzani/The Edge

KUALA LUMPUR (June 27): Malaysia’s central bank said on Thursday it plans to ask conventional and digital banks to provide basic savings accounts and basic current accounts at minimal costs to consumers.

The move aims to boost access to essential services, particularly for the “unserved and underserved” segments of the Malaysian population, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said. Among the main challenges for these consumers include the relatively high barriers to open a current or savings account, it noted.

“Having a bank deposit account is key to gaining access to financial services,” BNM said. “This basic first step provides a platform for households and enterprises to receive and make payments, save and perform other daily financial transactions.”

BNM has issued an exposure draft that sets out the proposed requirements and expectations that financial service providers must meet. The central bank is asking for feedback, including suggestions for specific issues or areas that need further clarification or alternative proposals to be considered.

Feedback must be submitted to BNM by July 26. The requirement is expected to cover licensed banks, Islamic banks, development financial institutions, and digital banks.

Under the proposed requirement, all banks shall offer eligible consumers — including individuals who are not digitally savvy, reside in areas with poor internet connectivity, or full-time students — one basic savings account with a minimum initial deposit of under RM20, with no service or maintenance fee.

Banks should also offer micro and small enterprises basic current accounts with a minimum initial deposit of RM100 with no minimum balance, though a RM10 service fee could be imposed every six months on accounts with an average balance of less than RM1,000.

Banks offering conventional basic savings accounts, meanwhile, shall offer a minimum interest rate of at least 0.25% per year regardless of the account balance, according to the draft exposure.