Islamic Financial Services

New Regulatory Framework for Consumer Credit Industry Now in Effect

The Consumer Credit Commission (Suruhanjaya Kredit Pengguna, "SKP") has today, 5 June 2026, issued its Authorisation Standards (Version 1.0) pursuant to section 123 of the Consumer Credit Act 2025 ("CCA"). The Standards take immediate effect and establish the licensing and registration framework for entities carrying on credit businesses and credit service businesses in Malaysia.

Who is affected?

The Standards apply to entities carrying on or intending to carry on the following regulated activities:

• Credit business (requiring a licence): buy now pay later schemes, factoring, and leasing, including their Islamic equivalents.

• Credit service business (requiring registration): impaired loan or financing acquisition, debt collection, and debt counselling and management.

Entities already engaged in these activities, as well as new entrants to the market, must familiarise themselves with the authorisation criteria and ensure compliance.

Key requirements at a glance

The Standards prescribe minimum financial thresholds of RM2 million in shareholders' funds or total equity for credit businesses, and RM500,000 (or RM250,000 with professional indemnity insurance of RM250,000) for credit service businesses. Applicants must be companies incorporated in Malaysia under the Companies Act 2016 and must demonstrate organisational competence, sound business management, and the fitness and propriety of their key persons, including controllers, directors, and senior management.

All applications must be submitted via SKP's new digital regulatory platform, the Consumer Credit Commission Online Regulatory System ("CORE System"), together with the prescribed processing fee of RM2,000 per type of business.

Islamic credit business

The Standards include dedicated provisions for Islamic credit providers, who may operate either as full-fledged Islamic entities or through an Islamic window model. Key obligations include end-to-end Shariah compliance, establishment of an Islamic Credit Business Fund for window operators, prohibition on commingling of Islamic and conventional funds, and the appointment of a qualified Shariah adviser or Shariah committee.

Post-authorisation obligations

Authorised entities face ongoing compliance obligations, including periodic data submissions to SKP (annual audited financial statements, quarterly operational data, and monthly complaints data), notification requirements within 14 calendar days of specified events, and the obligation to submit credit consumer data to a credit reporting agency within 12 months of authorisation. Prior approval from SKP is required for matters such as changes in control, appointment of the chief executive, and addition of new business types.

Fees

Inaugural authorisation fees are RM8,000 per licence (credit business) and RM5,000 per registration (credit service business), with a 50% reduction for approvals granted in the second half of the calendar year. Annual fees are tiered by revenue, ranging from RM8,000 to RM100,000 for credit businesses and RM5,000 to RM50,000 for credit service businesses.

Entities not serving credit consumers

Entities carrying on a credit business or credit service business that does not involve credit consumers are not subject to the licensing or registration requirement. However, they must submit an annual declaration to SKP under section 79(2) of the CCA confirming their noninvolvement with credit consumers.

What should affected entities do now?

Entities currently carrying on or planning to carry on any of the regulated activities should review the Authorisation Standards in full, assess their readiness against the authorisation criteria, and take steps to prepare their applications via the CORE System. Particular attention should be given to ensuring that key persons meet the fit and proper criteria and that the requisite policies, procedures, and financial resources are in place.

We are available to assist clients in navigating the new framework, including advising on authorisation applications, corporate structuring, Shariah governance arrangements, and ongoing compliance obligations.

The full text of the Authorisation Standards is available on SKP's website at www.skp.gov.my.

If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact Sharifah Shafika Alsagoff or the partner you usually deal with in Zaid Ibrahim & Co

This alert is for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice.

Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) (Central Bank of Malaysia) has recently proposed standards and guidelines for sell and buy back agreements (“SBBA”) and collateralized commodity murabahah (“CCM”) transactions used as Islamic financial instruments in the Islamic Interbank Money Market (“IIMM”).  

BNM’s exposure draft of 2 October 2023 sets out these proposals. Industry players have been asked to provide feedback by 31 October 2023, after which BNM will formalize a policy document on 1 January 2024.

The objectives of the policy document are to:

1. outline the scope of the SBBA and CCM transactions;
2. provide the regulatory requirements and BNM’s expectations for such transactions;
3. promote sound risk management practices for the conduct of such transactions; and
4. ensure compliance with Shariah principles.

Policy document will supersede previous guidance notes on SBBA

When it comes into effect, the policy document will supersede the Guidance Notes on Sell and Buy Back Agreement (“Guidance Notes”), previously issued on 28 June 2013.

The Guidance Notes provided best practices governing the conduct of the SBBA transaction. The SBBA, which is akin to the conventional repurchase (“Repo”) agreement, was modified to comply with Shariah principles and approved by the Shariah Advisory Council of BNM as an Islamic financial instrument.

A Repo agreement is guided by the Repurchase Agreement Transactions Policy Document issued by BNM in 2019. The policy document defines a Repo as a transaction which involves the sale of securities with a simultaneous agreement to repurchase them on a future date and at a higher price. The repurchase price consists of the original price plus an interest rate on the cash leg of the transaction.

In the SBBA, there are two distinct contracts which are concluded at two separate times, namely, the sale of securities in the first contract and the repurchase of the securities in the second contract. In addition, there is no stipulated condition to repurchase the securities by the seller in the first contract. The Wa’d or promise to repurchase and/or to sell the securities in the SBBA overcomes the inter-conditionality issue in the Repo, as the promise is only made upon the conclusion of the first contract.

The SBBA is thus the answer to a Shariah compliant repurchase agreement.

Policy document will enhance features and provide clarity in SBBA

The proposed policy document enhances the features of the existing SBBA transaction, namely by providing clarity to its definition and transaction sequence as follows:

The element of promise or Wa’d in the SBBA arrangement prevents inter-conditionality between the sale and purchase transactions entered by the SBBA buyer and SBBA seller.

Key differences between the policy document and previous guidance notes

The key difference between the policy document and the Guidance Notes is the introduction of CCM as an alternative Islamic financial instrument for the IIMM. The CCM is an arrangement based on the Shariah principle of murabahah where a CCM pledgor buys commodity from a CCM pledgee on deferred payment terms. The CCM pledgor then pledges Shariah compliant securities as collateral for the deferred payment obligation under the murabahah contract.

Other salient differences between the Guidance Notes and the policy documents are set out below:

Conclusion

In 2014, the International Islamic Financial Market issued a Master Collateralized Murabahah Agreement (“MCMA”) which is a standard template used as an alternative to the Repo. The MCMA is based on the Shariah principles of murabahah and rahn and aims to address the issues and diversity in practices around the buying and selling of securities by the same counterparties at a future date.

Since then, international banking institutions, especially in the United Arab Emirates, have used the MCMA as a liquidity management tool.

Therefore, the introduction of CCM in this proposed BNM’s policy document may be more appealing to banking institutions that are less favourable towards the SBBA.

If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact Lily Adelina Hashim, Raihan Naseeha Rafidi, or the Zaid Ibrahim & Co partner you usually deal with.

This alert is for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice.