Malaysia has stepped into a new age of financial services with the opening of Ryt Bank, the world’s first AI powered bank built by Malaysia for Malaysians, officially recognized.
The effort is led by YTL Group and Sea Limited and takes place just ahead of the nation’s Merdeka celebration and marks a significant step in the nation’s digital transformation journey.
Essentially, Ryt Bank unites the advanced artificial intelligence with the Malaysian cultural and linguistic diversity. The vision is to develop a banking experience that is truly inclusive.“Ryt Bank demonstrates that groundbreaking innovation can be imagined, built, and led right here in Malaysia. 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,” YTL Power International managing director Dato’ Seri Yeoh Seok Hong said.
The platform is launched with complete multilingual functionality, with Bahasa Malaysia and English supported since the launch, to be followed by Mandarin in September 2025. This will enable services to reach across Malaysia’s multicultural communities, providing financial tools in the languages customers are comfortable with.
At the core of the platform lies Ryt AI, an intelligent assistant powered by ILMU, the country’s first homegrown large language model. With Ryt AI, customers can carry out banking tasks such as bill payments, expense tracking, or learning about financial basics simply by using conversational language in Bahasa Malaysia, English, or Manglish. Each transaction is verified and encrypted, reinforcing security while delivering a user-friendly experience.
Customers can earn daily interest of up to 4% per annum on savings with no lock-ins, gain instant credit via Ryt PayLater of up to RM1,499 interest-free for the first month, and access the all-in-one Ryt Card, which combines debit and credit functionality. Added perks include unlimited 1.2% cashback on international transactions, zero foreign transaction fees, and exclusive rewards such as Shopee vouchers and YTL Hotels dining discounts.
Licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia and protected by PIDM, the first AI powered bank, Ryt Bank integrates enterprise-grade security with seamless customer convenience.