Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is taking a significant step towards empowering consumers by allowing them to control how their financial data is shared, accessed, and utilized. Starting January 1, 2027, BNM aims to ensure that Malaysians have full autonomy over their financial information, including deposit accounts, charge cards, and credit cards. This move is part of the central bank's proposed open finance rules, which will revolutionize the way financial data is managed in the country.
The proposed rules will impact large banks, development finance institutions, and eligible e-money providers. These entities will be required to share the last 12 months of transaction details (date, description, and amount) and current account balances for customers who actively opt-in. This includes savings, current, fixed deposits, and Islamic deposits. Banks with over 100,000 individual or SME customers, development finance institutions with more than 100,000 customers, and e-money issuers with over five million active users must participate in this initiative.
The timeline for data sharing is as follows: starting January 1, 2027, banks will share data for individuals. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be included from January 1, 2028. From January 1, 2029, development finance institutions will share data for individuals and SMEs, and e-money issuers will begin sharing data for individuals.
BNM emphasizes the importance of secure and voluntary data sharing, giving consumers the power to revoke access to their financial information at any time. Consent must be specific, voluntary, explicit, and revocable. Banks will provide dashboards for customers to manage their consent and view, renew, or revoke it. Additionally, data must be used solely for agreed-upon purposes, securely stored, and deleted once consent is terminated.
The framework also incorporates robust data protection measures, breach notifications, and complaint handling procedures to ensure that financial institutions handle customer data responsibly. This comprehensive approach aims to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive information.
Open finance, as BNM envisions it, has the potential to streamline processes by enabling fully digital submissions and the transmission of documents, replacing manual processes. By facilitating secure, consent-driven data sharing, BNM hopes to create a more open and transparent data ecosystem in Malaysia, ultimately benefiting both consumers and businesses.
BNM invites written feedback on the proposed open finance rules by March 1, 2026, and welcomes discussions and suggestions from the public to refine and improve the framework before its implementation.
