To circle back to this, I think I was perhaps wrong to say Razer would be a competitor. RMS Reloads is actually owned by Razer, and IOU made significance reference to Razer in their last announcement which makes me feel that there could be a partnership between the two, and even a possibility that Razer and IOU may come together to apply jointly for the digital banking licence. As you have previously said, parties are able to enter into partnerships to apply for a licence.
Razer has made it known it will apply to the central bank for a digital banking licence, however I do not think as it stand sit will be successful. The central bank of Malaysia has confirmed that the main criteria for the award of the licence is to fintech companies that are able to use agile technology platforms and data analytics to target the unserved and underserved consumer segments.
On its own Razer admits it predominantly targets mostly Gen Z and gamers which may make then a bad applicant – however, if they partner with IOU then they will have a better shot. Particularly, given the great lengths IOU go to specifically mention the underbanked populations that they target, and how this is their key concern.
Otherwise, there is still nothing preventing IOU from applying for a digital banking licence by themselves, and the deal with RMS Reloads may further indicate their intention to apply for the licence given how useful it will be for the underbanked.
For those thinking IOU is too small, a Malaysian fintech named MyMy has confirmed it is applying for a digital banking licence, and this is despite the fact it has recently sought to raise max USD$3mil in seed funding in order to keep the lights on.
Given IOU has $54mil in the bank, it clearly would classify as being able to apply if MyMy is able to apply with its $3mil in the bank.
In any event, the minimum capital funds required for the first 3 years is $30mil. IOU already meets this criteria, and would be able to secure additional funding as needed from the market, or through any joint ventures.
