Ringgit Stablecoin and Tokenised Deposit Pilots Near BNM’s End-2026 Policy Call
Malaysia is running several live tests of digital ringgit money built by banks and fintechs, and the central bank has promised to say by the end of 2026 how these tools may be used. A new tally in the Malaysia Fintech Report 2026 by Fintech News Network shows how far the pilots have come, from a cross-border bank transfer to Singapore to a billion-ringgit sukuk settled on a blockchain.
Key facts
- Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank, onboarded three projects in February 2026 under its Digital Asset Innovation Hub to test ringgit stablecoins and tokenised deposits for wholesale payments.
- The projects involve Standard Chartered and Capital A (a ringgit stablecoin for business-to-business settlement) and Maybank and CIMB (tokenised deposits for payments).
- CIMB settled the tokenised part of an RM1.68 billion sukuk issuance, RM1.38 billion, with tokenised deposits; 12 institutional investors took part.
- Maybank completed its first on-chain ringgit-to-Singapore dollar transfer with Yinson Holdings on 25 March 2026.
- BNM has said it intends to give greater clarity on the use of these instruments by the end of 2026.
What is being tested
Two kinds of digital money are on trial. A stablecoin is a token on a blockchain designed to hold a steady value, in this case one ringgit. A tokenised deposit is an ordinary bank deposit recorded as a token, so it remains a claim on a licensed bank but can move and settle on a shared digital ledger. Both aim to make transfers between companies faster and easier to automate.
The Digital Asset Innovation Hub, launched in June 2025, is BNM’s controlled testing space for these ideas. Testing partners include corporate clients of the banks, the Securities Commission Malaysia and the state investment fund Khazanah Nasional. BNM has said the work could later link to its wholesale central bank digital currency research, a digital form of central bank money used only between financial institutions.
The pilots so far:
- Maybank: on its own permissioned (invite-only) blockchain, Maybank turned deposits into tokens, converted ringgit to Singapore dollars on-chain and sent the payment to Singapore in near real time for energy infrastructure group Yinson. The bank has said the next phase could include tokenised Islamic finance products.
- CIMB: in August, CIMB Islamic issued sukuk (Islamic bonds) with tenors of 5 to 15 years under its RM10 billion Senior Sukuk Wakalah programme. RM1.38 billion was tokenised and paid for with tokenised deposits, while RM300 million was issued the traditional way.
- Standard Chartered and Capital A: the two signed a letter of intent in December 2025 to explore a ringgit stablecoin, with Standard Chartered Malaysia as the issuer and Capital A’s businesses trialling real-world uses.
- BLOX: outside the hub, Malaysian fintech BLOX issues MYRC, a token it says is backed one-to-one by ringgit. It raised US$1 million in seed funding led by Kivo Technology in August, and has said MYRC operates outside a specific Malaysian regulatory framework while it engages regulators.
What it means for Malaysians
Consumers will not see a ringgit stablecoin in their e-wallet soon. Every bank-led pilot targets wholesale uses such as company payments, treasury and bond settlement, and BNM has kept them in a controlled environment. Everyday payments still run on DuitNow and other systems operated by PayNet, Malaysia’s national payments network.
Businesses that trade with Singapore or manage cash across borders stand to benefit first. Standard Chartered has pointed to cross-border payments, where correspondent banking can be slow and costly, as a strong use case. Faster settlement could free up working capital for exporters and their suppliers, including SMEs further down the chain.
Banks and investors are learning how tokenised assets fit existing rules. CIMB said the tokenisation layer did not change the sukuk’s economic or Shariah structure, an important signal for Malaysia’s large Islamic finance market.
What to watch
- BNM’s promised policy clarity on ringgit stablecoins and tokenised deposits, due by the end of 2026.
- Whether Maybank and CIMB move from single pilots to repeat or larger transactions, including tokenised Islamic products.
- Whether the Standard Chartered and Capital A stablecoin moves from exploration to live trials with business users.
Related: PayNet and the regulators · How Malaysia’s payment system works
Sources: Fintech News Malaysia (Oct 2026) · Fintech News Malaysia (Feb 2026) · CIMB (Aug 2026) · Business Today (Mar 2026) · Crowdfund Insider (Dec 2025) · Dealroom (Aug 2026)
