AWS and audax to drive Maybank Islamic’s digital transformation

With the first product to be launched in 2025, audax will deliver modern, customer-centric digital banking solutions built on AWS for Maybank Islamic.

Maybank Islamic Bhd has appointed audax Financial Technology to spearhead digital transformation of its banking services. A comprehensive digital banking technology solutions provider backed by Standard Chartered, audax will deliver modern, customer-centric digital banking solutions built on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The first product is expected to be launched in 2025.

The collaboration with the largest Islamic bank in Asia Pacific underscores audax’s pivotal role in shaping the future of digital Islamic banking. With audax already known for its banking-as-a-service (BaaS) offering, it will now bring its expertise to enable Maybank Islamic to redefine customer experiences across its key markets. This includes services in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines through innovative, inclusive, and Shariah-compliant digital banking solutions.

According to Kelvin Tan, CEO of audax, the collaboration with Maybank Islamic underscores their commitment to driving digital transformation in Islamic banking, and banking as a whole.

“audax's platform will enable Maybank Islamic to deliver transformative customer experiences, ensuring they remain a leader in the rapidly evolving Islamic finance landscape,” said Tan.

Specifically, the collaboration entails audax delivering a full suite of Islamic financial products via seamless digital channels to Maybank Islamic. The products include paperless technology, real-time onboarding, efficient account management, and instant access to digital banking services.

Given the strong regulatory requirements for banking and financial services, audax’s platform provides rapid, reliable and secure deployment by leveraging AWS’s secure and scalable cloud infrastructure. This solution not only meets customer needs with agility, but also enables compliance with Islamic finance principles, reinforcing audax’s commitment to delivering inclusive and innovative banking solutions at scale.

In a media release, audax stated that its partnership with AWS has also enabled it capabilities to empower other banks and financial institutions in the region to better serve their customers.

Interestingly, the global Islamic finance market is projected to reach US$4.94 trillion by 2025 and Southeast Asia will be contributing 22% of the world’s Islamic financial assets. As such, audax believes by leveraging its expertise, Maybank Islamic is poised to not only enhance its capabilities but also set the stage for future advancements in Islamic banking across the region and beyond.

For Dato' Muzaffar Hisham, Maybank Islamic CEO, partnering with audax and AWS marks a significant milestone in the bank’s journey to build global Islamic banking leadership.

“This collaboration underscores our commitment to delivering customer-first solutions that are seamless, inclusive, and fully compliant with Islamic finance principles, in line with Maybank’s M25+ strategy. We are confident that audax’s expertise and AWS’s secure cloud infrastructure will empower us to better serve our customers and drive growth across Southeast Asia's rapidly expanding Islamic finance sector,” said Hisham.

Meanwhile, Peter Murray, Country General Manager for Malaysia and Asia Emerging Markets at AWS highlighted that AWS is the only global cloud service provider to have launched infrastructure regions in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand in ASEAN.

“Leveraging this unparalleled investment in Southeast Asia, Maybank Islamic can now offer services that anticipate their end customer needs, continuously optimize operational performance, and deliver innovative, cutting-edge Islamic banking services that are secure, scalable, and customer-centric,” said Murray.

On working with industry partners like audax, Murray added that they deliver the building blocks of future finance and AWS is committed to helping Maybank Islamic redefine Islamic banking as a global leader and democratize financial access across ASEAN.

A comprehensive digital banking technology solutions provider backed by Standard Chartered, audax has also enabled new business models and revenue streams for Standard Chartered under the SC nexus proposition, becoming the first global bank to provide BaaS in Asia.

Apart from being the largest Islamic bank in Asia Pacific, Maybank Islamic is also one of the largest in terms of assets. The bank, which is a subsidiary of the Maybank Group, continues to spearhead the Islamic banking and finance industry through cross-border business, regional leadership in retail and investment banking in Southeast Asia and the development of new, innovative and competitive propositions.