CIMB Group Holdings Berhad has received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to participate in the central bank’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub (DAIH), marking a significant step in the Group’s exploration of regulated digital asset payment and settlement solutions.
The approval enables CIMB to test digital asset use cases within a supervised regulatory environment, reinforcing the Group’s commitment to strengthening Malaysia’s financial infrastructure while supporting innovation aligned with regulatory safeguards.
The DAIH provides a structured platform for financial institutions to evaluate digital asset applications under defined governance, risk management and compliance parameters. CIMB’s participation reflects its ongoing engagement with BNM in advancing resilient, future-ready financial market infrastructure, particularly in the evolution of next-generation payment and settlement systems.
As part of the programme, CIMB will explore the tokenisation of its own sukuk issuance, alongside the use of tokenised deposit representations to facilitate end-to-end payment and settlement workflows within approved testing parameters.
Tokenised deposits are envisaged as a foundational settlement layer for tokenised instruments, enabling more integrated and automated issuance, transfer and settlement processes. The initiative builds on CIMB’s previously announced strategic intent to leverage tokenisation to enhance efficiency, transparency and accessibility in capital markets, while remaining firmly anchored within the regulated financial system.
More broadly, CIMB views tokenisation as a key enabling layer in the future of payment and settlement infrastructure, allowing regulated digital value forms to interact securely and efficiently. The Group has indicated its intention to modernise payment systems to incorporate digital representations of value — including tokenised deposits and potentially stablecoins — subject to regulatory alignment and risk considerations.
Through its participation in the DAIH, CIMB will evaluate bank-grade tokenisation across issuance, payment and settlement processes, with a focus on operational readiness, controls and market infrastructure design. The initiative is expected to generate practical insights into operating models, risk management practices and industry standards that could support broader ecosystem preparedness for regulated digital asset adoption.
Group Chief Executive Officer Novan Amirudin said the participation allows CIMB to examine how tokenisation can support the next phase of Malaysia’s payment and settlement infrastructure in a safe and regulated manner.
“Our focus is on building robust capabilities, controls and operating readiness so that new forms of digital value can be integrated into the financial system responsibly,” he said. “This is a foundational step in providing clients with trusted access to digital capital markets and settlement networks, consistent with our Forward30 strategy, translating innovation into real market outcomes that advance customers and society.”
CIMB said it will work closely with regulators and ecosystem participants under the DAIH framework to help develop common standards, controls and market practices, laying the groundwork for the next phase of Malaysia’s capital market and payment infrastructure evolution.