11 February 2026
Kuala Lumpur: CIMB Group Holdings Berhad (“CIMB” or “the Group”) today announced that it has received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) to participate in the central bank’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub (“DAIH”), enabling the Group to test regulated digital asset payment and settlement use cases within a supervised ecosystem.
CIMB’s participation reinforces its commitment to Advancing Customers and Society, bringing forward innovation that strengthens Malaysia’s financial infrastructure and positions the country to compete more effectively on the global stage. The DAIH provides a structured platform for financial institutions to evaluate digital asset applications under defined safeguards covering governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance. CIMB’s participation reflects its continued engagement with BNM in supporting the development of resilient, future-ready financial market infrastructure, including the evolution of next-generation payment and settlement rails in Malaysia.
As part of its participation in the DAIH, CIMB will explore the tokenisation of its own sukuk issuance and the use of tokenised deposit representations to support end-to-end payment and settlement workflows within approved testing parameters. Tokenised deposits are envisaged as a foundational settlement layer for tokenised instruments, enabling issuance, transfer, and settlement processes in a more integrated and automated manner. These initiatives build on CIMB’s earlier announcement outlining its strategic intent to apply tokenisation to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accessibility across capital markets, while remaining firmly anchored within the regulated financial system.
More broadly, CIMB views tokenisation as an enabling layer for the future of payment and settlement infrastructure, allowing different forms of regulated digital value to interact securely and efficiently. The Group intends to modernise the payments infrastructure to incorporate digital representations of value, including tokenised deposits and stablecoins, subject to regulatory alignment, risk considerations, and use-case suitability.
Through the DAIH, CIMB will holistically evaluate bank-grade tokenisation across issuance, payment, and settlement processes, with a focus on operational readiness, controls, and market infrastructure design. The programme is expected to generate practical insights into operating models, risk management practices, and standards that could support broader ecosystem preparedness for regulated digital asset adoption.
Novan Amirudin, Group Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Group said “Participation in BNM’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub allows us to examine how tokenisation can support the next phase of 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. 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’s participation in the DAIH will focus on building operational readiness and generating practical insights that support the development of common standards, controls, and market practices. By working closely with regulators and ecosystem participants, CIMB aims to help lay the groundwork for the next phase of Malaysia’s capital market and payment infrastructure evolution.
