AI is steadily changing the way banks work. The technology can sift through massive amounts of data, calculate risks, and handle routine tasks at speeds people can’t match. Now, Malaysia has entered that space with the launch of Ryt Bank, billed as the first AI-powered bank created in the country.
The new venture, led by YTL Group in partnership with Sea Limited, arrives just ahead of Merdeka. “Ryt Bank demonstrates that groundbreaking innovation can be imagined, built, and led right here in Malaysia,” said Dato’ Seri Yeoh Seok Hong, Managing Director of YTL Power International. “By combining homegrown AI with the values and diversity of our people, we’ve created a bank that Malaysians can proudly call their own – one that speaks our languages, understands our culture, and sets a new standard for how banking should feel.”
Ryt Bank has been designed to work in the languages most Malaysians use every day. Its app is already available in Bahasa Malaysia and English, with Mandarin support scheduled to arrive by next month (September 2025). By offering multilingual access, the bank aims to make financial services more inclusive and easy to use for people in many different communities.
The centrepiece of the AI-powered bank is Ryt AI, a digital assistant powered by ILMU, Malaysia’s first locally-developed large language model. Ryt AI can understand natural conversation – in Bahasa Malaysia, English, or a mixture of both – and act on requests instantly.
The AI assistant can read and pay bills, track spending, and explain financial basics in plain terms. The idea is to blend convenience with cultural familiarity, while maintaining enterprise-grade security.
Ryt Bank is designed to pull together multiple financial needs into one platform. Customers can use the AI bank app to save, spend, borrow, and pay bills, with Ryt AI making the process more conversational and personal.
[ See also : Can Malaysia become Southeast Asia’s AI and cloud hub? ]
The AI bank is licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia and covered by PIDM, which protects deposits up to RM250,000 per customer. Security features include biometric login, layered encryption, and real-time fraud alerts.
Ryt Bank’s launch shows how AI is being used to rethink traditional banking. It aims to make financial services more accessible and satisfy regulatory and security standards by supporting local languages and developing its own AI assistant.
See also: Huawei commits to training 30,000 Malaysian AI professionals as local tech ecosystem expands
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