Digital banks have attracted deposits, borrowers and transaction activity. The figures below show adoption, but leave main-bank switching and gains in market share unanswered.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / PxHere · CC0.
Evidence periods: 2024–2025 · reviewed 1 October 2026
Why introduce digital banks when banking apps already exist?
In its licence announcement of 29 April 2022, BNM emphasised financial inclusion: reaching people and businesses poorly served by existing arrangements, reducing access barriers and using data to tailor services. The Minister of Finance approved five successful applicants. The stated goal went beyond giving existing customers another app. Read the original BNM announcement.
A traditional bank’s app is a way to access that bank. A digital bank is a separately licensed institution with its own accounts, lending decisions, costs and service arrangements. Similar-looking transfer screens do not tell you whether either bank can solve your particular problem. Compare banks, banking apps and e-wallets.
What would solving an unmet need look like?
Illustrative situations: a delivery rider with irregular income may need an affordable loan assessed using evidence beyond a standard payslip; a small trader may need a business account and a workable cash-funding route; someone far from a branch may value remote onboarding but still need help after losing a phone.
Check how well each product addresses these needs. An attractive savings pocket does not itself fix a cash-deposit problem. A fast credit decision can still be a rejection or an expensive offer. Check eligibility and full borrowing costs before treating access to credit as a benefit.
What the published evidence actually measures
BNM’s Annual Report 2025, released 31 March 2026, gives this end-2025 snapshot for the five digital banks. The figures describe the position at end-2025. BNM inclusion chapter · Publication date.
| Measure | Published evidence | What it cannot settle |
|---|---|---|
| Customers served | 2.4 million by end-2025. | Not a disclosed monthly-active count or proof of unique Malaysians switching their main account. |
| Deposits | RM4.2 billion at end-2025. | A balance at a point in time; not annual inflows or proof deposits remain after promotions. |
| Financing approvals | RM1 billion approved. | Approvals differ from money drawn, outstanding loans and successful repayment. |
| Inclusion | About 65% of customers were unserved/underserved; 34% of approved financing was for those segments. | “Underserved” includes unmet needs among people already banked; it does not mean all were opening their first account. |
BNM also describes its DIME monitoring framework for inclusion strategies, governance and product design. Our interpretation: success needs evidence that services become useful and accessible, alongside growth in accounts.
There is evidence of use beyond registration
GXBank’s release dated 27 November 2025, posted 8 December 2025, reports over a million transaction customers and more than 220 million transactions in the preceding year. That is a bank-reported usage signal, stronger than an account-opening count. The release does not give a standard monthly-active definition, transaction mix or salary-switching measure, so it cannot stand in for those metrics or for all five banks. GXBank’s dated release.
Growth and profitability are separate questions
GXBank’s audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 show customer deposits of about RM1,601.8 million (2024: RM1,319.2 million), loans and advances of RM635.0 million (2024: RM4.7 million), and a pre-tax loss of RM238.3 million (2024: RM234.6 million). The accounts were authorised for issue on 25 March 2026. Audited statements, printed pages 29, 32–33 and 37.
These are one bank’s figures: balance-sheet lending is different from industry financing approvals. Customer growth can coexist with losses. Neither a loss alone nor rapid growth alone tells you how reliable support is or whether a product suits you. Do not substitute a parent company’s regional customer, deposit or adjusted-profit measure for a Malaysian bank’s standalone result.
Are they taking market share from traditional banks?
These figures show that people are using digital banks. Establishing gains in market share needs more evidence. A person may move part of their savings while keeping salary, bills and borrowing elsewhere. That can shift deposit balances without a full banking switch. New savings and customers previously poorly served can also expand the market.
For context, BNM reports banking-system deposits grew 4.5% year on year at December 2025. A growing total means an incumbent can gain deposits yet lose percentage share. Its review also notes a change in deposit definitions excluding repurchase agreements, which matters for comparisons across publications. BNM Financial Stability Review, second half of 2025; released 31 March 2026.
A defensible deposit-share calculation needs digital-bank deposits divided by matching Malaysian system deposits, on the same date and accounting scope. A claim of gaining share needs that ratio at two comparable dates. The sources below lack a consistent series for that calculation.
Nor should you divide 2.4 million customers served by the 25 million active mobile-banking users reported for 2025: those have different definitions and can overlap. The latter figure instead shows that mobile banking already extends far beyond the new digital banks. BNM’s 2025 payments chapter; published 31 March 2026.
What evidence would change the answer?
- Regular use: comparable monthly-active and repeat-payment measures, not registrations alone.
- Main-bank switching: salary-credit, recurring-bill or representative survey evidence identifying the former main bank.
- Durable deposits: balances retained after a promotion ends and comparable deposit-share trends.
- Useful lending: disbursements, outstanding balances, repayment outcomes and costs for the intended customers.
- Sustainable service: standalone financial results alongside published service and complaint outcomes.
The cited publications do not provide comparable measures across all five banks. Use their dated figures to understand the evidence available so far.
What does this mean for your money?
If your current bank works well: keeping it is a sensible choice. You do not need to change providers to endorse a policy or follow customer-growth headlines.
- Salary and payments: test billers, standing instructions and transfer limits before switching. Keep a working backup while using the main-account checklist.
- Emergency savings: compare access as well as returns. Use the savings calculator to weigh extra ringgit against conditions in current offers.
- Cash needs: check actual ATM costs and cash-in options on Compare Banks. An app alone does not establish a suitable route for cash takings.
- Borrowing: assess total cost and affordability. More accessible credit is useful only if its terms fit a genuine need.
- Getting help: save official contacts outside the app and check the account-access guide.
Our practical reading: assess one useful job at a time. A second account can help without replacing your main bank. For a first decision, start with whether you need another account at all.
Reviewed 1 October 2026.
BNM licence announcement · 29 April 2022BNM Annual Report 2025 · end-2025 inclusion figuresBNM report publication · 31 March 2026GXBank usage release · dated 27 November / posted 8 December 2025GXBank audited FY2025 statements · authorised 25 March 2026BNM FSR 2H2025 · deposit growth and definitionBNM AR2025 · mobile-banking usage