This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 9, 2026 – February 15, 2026
In May last year, Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) set up a hub for local financial technology (fintech) companies by lowering early-stage barriers to drive collaboration and access to institutions that would otherwise be difficult for start-ups to reach.
As the national payments infrastructure provider, Paynet felt that it could play a constructive role in supporting the fintech ecosystem, says chief marketing officer Gary Yeoh. The fintech hub, envisioned as an industry-led platform, is primarily focused on the growth of early-stage fintech firms.
The hub brings together fintech start-ups, banks, corporates, technology providers, investors and service partners in a single collaborative environment. More than 50 fintech start-ups and 50 ecosystem partners have joined since its launch.
Unlike traditional accelerator models, PayNet does not take equity in participating companies, opting instead to support start-ups through access to infrastructure, funding credits, advisory services and industry connections.
“We were not told to do this but asked to think about how best to add value to the space,” says Yeoh, adding that the hub grew out of internal discussions about how PayNet could play a broader role beyond payments processing.
“We started thinking about how we could use PayNet as that platform to do more. PayNet has this very unique status, where it sits in the middle of pretty much everything. We don’t have a commercial motive such as profit.”
PayNet has since committed more than RM5 million in combined value-added support. This includes RM1 million in PayNet credits for each participating start-up, RM600,000 worth of advisory services covering legal, human resources, finance and market research, RM3 million in cloud credits and access to fully sponsored co-working spaces.
This arrangement is intended to reduce operational pressure on founders so they can focus on building and testing their products.
“They don’t have as much pressure because they don’t pay rent. Their accounting is taken care of … All they are required to do is focus on their core work, on refining the ideas, validating them or even rolling them out. We want to give them all the building blocks and hopefully, they will manage to [make something out of it],” says Yeoh.
So far, the PayNet team has facilitated 26 pilot and collaboration opportunities, including seven fintech-to-corporate pilots and four fintech-to-fintech pilots. Several have progressed to testing of their proof-of-concept (POC) and integration.
Yeoh says the ability to support POC projects financially is a key part of PayNet’s approach. “As they need to come up with a POC, PayNet will help them with the POC [via the hub] and if the POC succeeds, and the bank absorbs the solution, PayNet will not take any part of that partnership.”
Acting as a bridge
PayNet’s ability to act as an intermediary between fintech players and banks, reducing friction on both sides, is a defining feature of the hub.
“For a lot of these founders, for them to open the door to Maybank or CIMB or Touch ’n Go [without an existing relationship] is not easy. But PayNet can open any of these doors relatively easily,” says Yeoh.
Most financial institutions, banks in particular, are not necessarily unwilling to work with fintech firms, but are often uncertain about how to engage, he explains.
“I think banks … don’t know how to do it. They don’t know which fintech, how to go about it. So this [the hub] could be like a safe space for both sides. PayNet helps banks articulate problem statements, brings potential solutions to market and supports pilots where appropriate, ensuring the downside for banks is limited, says Yeoh. “If you don’t like the outcome of the POC, you can stop there,” he notes.
PayNet’s decision not to take equity is deliberate as the hub continues to test what works, says Yeoh. “Our hope is to grow the community. It would also have been less likely for us to take equity in 50 or 100 companies. When you start taking stakes, it changes the dynamics a little bit.”
While the decision not to take a stake in these start-ups could change in the future, PayNet’s impartiality has helped build trust and greater credibility, says Yeoh. “Usually somebody may say there’s no vested interest, but at worst, they may want PR (public relations). But we literally don’t have any of these things.”
That neutrality has already given start-ups greater credibility, he adds. “One of the founders shared that one of the reasons they had the opportunity to raise funds was because they were part of the PayNet fintech hub.”
Beyond pilots and funding credits, PayNet is also helping founders articulate their value propositions more clearly, both on paper and in person, and encouraging them to think beyond the Malaysian market.
This is where PayNet’s collaboration with Imperial College London comes in. Yeoh says local fintech founders need early exposure to international benchmarks and must move beyond Malaysia-centric thinking if they are to compete outside the domestic market.
By placing founders in global environments, PayNet wants to ensure that international standards, competitive pressure and market expectations are embedded into how companies are built from the very beginning, rather than treated as an afterthought, he adds.
Currently, a select group of 10 start-ups has joined the fully sponsored inaugural PayNet x Imperial Catalyst Programme, a 10-week accelerator developed jointly with Imperial College London. The immersive programme began with an intensive, week-long immersion in London in December last year, followed by structured engagement that runs until March, culminating in a Demo Day.
The participating start-ups are blockchain firm Blox; retail technology service provider Buzz; digital financial planning app Cashku; payments and data aggregator Iimmpact; online insurance and takaful aggregator Insureku; blockchain-based digital agreements provider Janjilah; agritech start-up Kapitani; buy now, pay later solutions provider MobyPay; financial operations solutions provider Swipey; and programmable money infrastructure provider Teel.
During the London immersion, founders were exposed to international mentors, many of whom were entrepreneurs and angel investors, as well as workshops and direct interaction with established UK fintech players, offering insight into how global players structure products, navigate regulatory complexity and scale across markets.
While many start-ups have strong products, their ability to pitch to banks, investors and partners varies, says Yeoh.
Also, the structured programme and mentorship are meant to help founders identify blind spots early on, not by providing answers, but by forcing clearer thinking about capital, customers and constraints before those decisions become irreversible.
“They all have decent products … and all of them are for solving problems. And the best part is that they are passionate,” he says.
However, passion alone is not enough, he points out. “They need to think about telling a better story. Spot their blind spots … because I think their success depends on them being able to tell their story.”
While its national policy targets include producing five unicorns by 2030, PayNet’s own success metrics are broader, says Yeoh. “What if there is another Grab out there? But instead of waiting for 10 years for it to deliver value, we help it create value in three or four years,” he elaborates.
Through pilot programmes currently underway, PayNet estimates that solutions developed in the hub could potentially benefit more than eight million B40 Malaysians and over 800,000 micro, small and medium enterprises.
Five months in, the hub is still evolving. “We ourselves are not 100% sure that everything we’re doing is correct,” says Yeoh.
What remains constant is the belief that fintech firms can act as a catalyst for wider innovation. “We believe fintech players can be the drivers of innovation and there is some synergy between what we can do with them and for the banks that no one else can do,” he says.
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