The remittance landscape in Southeast Asia is undergoing a quiet revolution. What was once the domain of brick-and-mortar money changers and bank branches is now increasingly defined by smartphone screens and digital wallets. In a region where millions rely on cross-border money transfers—whether for personal remittances or small business payments—the shift to mobile-first financial services is not just a matter of convenience. It’s a transformation that speaks to broader changes in consumer behaviour, financial access, and regional economic integration.
Malaysia, in particular, has become a key battleground for digital remittance providers. With its significant migrant workforce and growing community of SMEs engaged in regional trade, the country represents a microcosm of Southeast Asia’s complex financial needs. The surge in demand for low-cost, transparent, and fast cross-border payments is pushing fintechs to innovate beyond basic transfers. Users now expect features like real-time tracking, seamless eKYC onboarding, and access to better exchange rates—all within a few taps.
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This trend is amplified by the growing appetite for self-service financial tools, especially among younger and more digitally literate users. For migrant workers, who often face exclusion from formal banking systems, mobile wallets have become a lifeline, offering not just remittance services but also access to essential financial products. For SMEs, these same platforms are helping unlock faster B2B transactions, streamline payment flows to suppliers and freelancers, and reduce dependence on high-fee international bank transfers.
To better understand how companies like TrueMoney are positioning themselves to address these needs by building digital-first platforms tailored to the region’s diverse user base, we spoke to Shaik Ikhwan, TrueMoney Malaysia’s Head of Commercial. With a footprint spanning multiple Southeast Asian markets, along with corridors into South Asia, TrueMoney’s ecosystem approach reflects a wider trend in the remittance space: moving from single-use apps to full-service financial ecosystems that serve both individuals and businesses.
At the same time, the B2B cross-border payments segment is gaining traction. Sectors like e-commerce, logistics, and professional services are turning to fintech solutions that offer speed, transparency, and cost efficiency, benefits that traditional banks often struggle to deliver. As cross-border trade deepens in the ASEAN region and digital transformation accelerates across industries, financial infrastructure will need to keep pace.
Financial inclusion is no longer a side goal—it’s central to product development. From tiered KYC and local-language interfaces to embedded financial services for micro-enterprises, the direction of travel is clear. Southeast Asia’s remittance and payments ecosystem is moving toward accessibility, automation, and agility. And for the providers who can navigate this diverse, high-growth environment, the opportunity is enormous.
- How does TrueMoney plan to differentiate itself in Malaysia’s competitive remittance landscape, especially with other regional players offering similar digital services?
We differentiate ourselves by focusing on providing reliability, speed, competitive fees, and a user-friendly app designed specifically for everyone’s ease, including migrant workers and underserved communities, to send money securely and efficiently. What sets us apart is our extensive reach across Southeast Asia and beyond. We operate in countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. This wide network allows users in Malaysia to conveniently send money to their loved ones back home through the TrueMoney e-wallet.
Moreover, we offer competitive exchange rates for major currencies such as United States Dollars (USD), Singapore Dollars (SGD), and Thai Baht (THB). This ensures our users get the best possible value with each transaction. Additionally, we further differentiate ourselves by offering robust regulatory trust and compliance. We are one of only 11 digital remittance providers in the country, out of a total of 26, that provide a full eKYC process, ensuring security and peace of mind for our users.
With a strong presence in over seven countries across the region, we are able to leverage our network and experience to deliver even greater value across our ecosystem, making cross-border remittance simpler and more rewarding for everyone who uses our digital e-wallet.
- What consumer and business behaviours are shaping the way cross-border payments are evolving?
On the consumer side, we are seeing a significant shift, particularly among migrant workers, towards mobile e-wallets rather than traditional bank services. This is largely driven by the need for greater convenience and immediacy. Unlike traditional banks, which often involve time-consuming paperwork and longer processing times, mobile e-wallets offer a faster, more accessible alternative that better suits their lifestyle and needs. Another key factor influencing cross-border payments is the increasing demand for transparency and speed. In the past, users had no real-time tracking, leading to constant checking with recipients to confirm if the money had arrived. Today, users expect not just instant transfers, but also clear upfront fees and the ability to track their transactions in real-time. This growing expectation is driving remittance providers like us to continuously enhance both our technology and communication strategies.
Not only that, we are also noticing that as digital literacy improves, consumers now prefer a much more self-directed approach. For instance, there is a rising preference towards self-service and fully digital onboarding processes, where users can easily set up accounts, complete eKYC requirements, and initiate transfers, all without the need for any physical interaction.
From a business perspective, the demand for cross-border payment solutions is increasing rapidly among SMEs. More small businesses, especially those from the e-commerce and service sectors, are actively looking for cost-effective and efficient ways to pay suppliers or service providers overseas. This has particularly made B2B cross-border payments a critical area of growth, as these businesses look for solutions that offer both reliability and cost savings.
Taking all of the above into account, TrueMoney remains focused on delivering a seamless, reliable, and affordable way for both consumers and businesses to send money across borders, right at their fingertips. By continuing to invest in digital innovation, we aim to continue positively impacting lives and contribute to greater financial inclusion for all.
- What role does financial inclusion play in shaping your product roadmap, particularly for underserved communities like migrant workers and small businesses?
Financial inclusion is a core pillar of our product strategy. For underserved communities such as migrant workers, we see digital wallets as a gateway to broader financial access and empowerment. From a product roadmap perspective, we prioritise use cases with low barriers to entry (such as QR payments) and focus on creating simple, convenient user journeys. This includes features like local language UX and tiered KYC to encourage participation and usage of digital wallets.
Similarly, for small businesses, our main goal is to help them transition to digital with minimal friction. We enable easy payment acceptance via QR codes, boost their visibility through marketing support, and offer B2B remittance features to simplify cross-border transactions. Ultimately, it is about equipping them with the tools they need to grow and stay competitive in a digital-first economy.
How important is Southeast Asia’s B2B cross-border payment segment, and what sectors are seeing the most adoption?
The B2B cross-border market in Southeast Asia is expanding rapidly, driven by the region’s increasing digital adoption and the growing need for more efficient financial solutions. In Malaysia alone, we’ve seen remarkable growth in both inbound and outbound money transfers, reflecting how businesses are expanding their reach and operations beyond local borders. Projections indicate that the market will grow at a CAGR of 1.5 per cent over the next five years, reaching approximately $9.93 billion by 2028.
Looking at the broader Southeast Asian region, the international remittance market is projected to reach a transaction value of US$16.32 billion by 2025. A large share of this is expected to come from digital remittances, indicating a strong shift toward digital solutions in cross-border payments.
This shift is particularly crucial for SMEs, many of which continue to struggle with the inefficiencies of traditional banking systems, such as high fees, slow processing times, and fragmented systems when dealing with traditional banks. As these smaller businesses expand regionally, the need for seamless and affordable financial services becomes even more critical.
TrueMoney’s digital infrastructure provides a streamlined, more cost-effective infrastructure, which enables faster transactions, lower operational costs and ultimately helps SMEs scale with greater ease and confidence. In terms of adoption, several key sectors adopting digital B2B cross-border payments early include:
- E-commerce – SMEs sourcing goods from neighbouring countries.
- Manufacturing and logistics – Suppliers making frequent international payments.
- Professional services – Cross-border payments to consultants, agencies, and freelancers across the region.
What’s next for TrueMoney in Malaysia beyond remittances—are there plans to expand further into embedded finance, micro-lending, or merchant services?
TrueMoney Malaysia will continue to build on our key businesses in the country, while also looking to leverage the broader TrueMoney ecosystem further. This means we are focused on growing and strengthening our current suite of products, with a keen eye on expanding our offerings to include new products within the cross-border and financing space.