THE neck-and-neck competition between e-commerce rivals Grab and Sea just got more heated, with both snagging another digital bank licence each, this time in Malaysia. Grab and Sea, along with Malaysian partners, were on Friday (Apr 29) awarded two of the three retail digital bank licences offered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

The licences open up a bigger unbanked market for Grab and Sea to tap into, where an estimated 15 per cent of the population remains unbanked in 2017, according to a study by Bain and Temasek. Sea and Grab have both already acquired stakes in Indonesian banks, and now compete in the digital bank space in most markets across South-east Asia.

Coupled with the more stringent road map and requirements for Singapore’s digital banks, Malaysia might become a bigger focus for Grab and Sea, as the country offers a comparatively easier framework. BNM requires digital banks to operate with an asset limit of RM3 billion (S$950 million) for up to 5 years.