Malaysia’s fintech scene is booming on the surface, but underneath, many startups are still stuck at the MVP stage, blocked by legacy systems, fragmented infrastructure, and regulatory red tape. Despite the KL20 vision of becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia, the disconnect between banks and startups remains a serious bottleneck.

We speak with Mike Breen, Chief Commercial Officer at Audax, as he talks to us about how real transformation begins inside the banks themselves. Backed by Standard Chartered, Audax helps turn slow-moving financial institutions into scalable, secure platforms that fintechs can plug into. We explore what it takes to bridge the gap between ambition and infrastructure, and what Malaysia must do to turn a thriving ecosystem into a truly integrated digital economy.