Illustration of an approved invoice turning into an early ringgit payment backed by a guarantee shield

Maybank Islamic and CGC Let SME Suppliers of Mid-Tier Firms Get Paid Early on Invoices

October 28, 2026 FinDeskAsia

Maybank Islamic and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC) have launched a supply chain financing scheme that lets small suppliers get paid early on approved invoices. Unusually, the scheme is built around mid-tier companies rather than large corporations, opening a faster-payment route to the many MSMEs that sell to medium-sized buyers.

Key facts

Maybank Islamic and CGC describe it as Malaysia’s first supply chain financing guarantee scheme anchored by mid-tier companies (MTCs).
Suppliers, mainly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), can receive early payment against invoices their MTC buyer has approved.
Maybank Islamic provides the Shariah-compliant financing, while CGC backs eligible MTCs through its BizJamin-i Mid-Tier Companies guarantee scheme.
Guarantee fees are charged only when the facility is actually used, and financing requests and payouts are handled through digital channels.
The launch was announced on 27 October 2026 and ties in with Budget 2027 measures to ease cash-flow pressure across supply chains.

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How the scheme works

Supply chain financing is a way for a buyer’s bank to pay that buyer’s suppliers early. A supplier delivers goods, the buyer approves the invoice, and instead of waiting weeks or months to be paid, the supplier can draw cash from the bank straight away. The bank is later repaid by the buyer when the invoice falls due.

In most programmes, the “anchor” (the buyer whose credit the bank relies on) is a big listed company or a multinational. That leaves out suppliers to smaller buyers, because banks are less comfortable taking on the credit risk of a mid-sized firm. Here, CGC, the government-linked agency that guarantees loans for smaller businesses, steps in with a guarantee on the MTC. That guarantee makes it easier for Maybank Islamic to treat the mid-tier buyer as an anchor.

Under CGC’s published criteria, a mid-tier company has annual sales of RM50 million to RM500 million in manufacturing, or RM20 million to RM500 million in services and other sectors. The Islamic version of the guarantee follows Shariah principles, matching the Islamic financing from Maybank Islamic.

Mohamad Yasin Abdullah, Group CEO of Islamic Banking at Maybank and CEO of Maybank Islamic, said the pairing of financing and guarantee support was meant to strengthen liquidity and competitiveness for mid-tier firms and their suppliers. CGC President and CEO Mohamed Nazri Omar said it allows MSME suppliers to borrow against approved invoices instead of collateral they may not have.

What it means for Malaysians

For SME suppliers: Late payment is one of the biggest cash-flow headaches for small firms. Being able to turn an approved invoice into cash quickly can help them pay staff, buy stock and take on bigger orders without relying on overdrafts or personal savings.
For mid-tier buyers: MTCs can offer their suppliers a reason to stay loyal and keep prices steady, without paying the invoices early out of their own pocket. The fee only applies when the facility is used, which keeps the cost down for firms that need it occasionally.
For the banking sector: The scheme shows how trade data can stand in for physical collateral. As Mohamed Nazri noted, a supplier with a visible and verifiable trading record can be served even if it would struggle to get a regular loan. It also fits a wider push, including Bank Negara Malaysia’s open finance plans, to use digital records to widen access to credit.

The initiative sits under Maybank’s New Economy Ecosystem and supports Maybank Group Islamic Banking’s ROAR30 strategy. Budget 2027 also includes a proposed RM10 stamp duty on agreements for MTCs using excess credit facilities, a measure aimed at making such bank facilities cheaper to put in place.

What to watch

Which mid-tier companies sign on as the first anchors, and in which sectors.
Whether other banks follow with their own MTC-anchored programmes using CGC guarantees.
How quickly suppliers are paid in practice once invoices are approved through the digital channels.

Related on FinDeskAsia: How Malaysia’s payment system works and Payment gateways in Malaysia.

Sources: Fintech News Malaysia (October 2026); Business Today (October 2026); CGC BizJamin-i MTC scheme (October 2026).