KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded the largest improvement in financial inclusion rankings globally, climbing six places to 15th in the 2026 Global Financial Inclusion Index by Principal Financial Group and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Principal Asset Management Bhd said Malaysia’s overall financial inclusion score rose five points year-on-year (y-o-y) to 58.2, above the global average of 52 out of 100.
The country’s financial system also improved its ranking, up six places to 13th, with its score rising 8.1 points to 59.5, above the global average of 55.3 and South-East Asia’s regional average of 45.6.
The improvement was underpinned by higher volumes of real-time transactions, which lifted Malaysia seven places to ninth, alongside gains in access to capital, access to credit and business confidence.
Malaysia also ranks fifth globally for employer support – up two places y-o-y – with a score of 72.6, above the global average of 65.7 and the regional South-East Asian average of 69.3.
Principal Asset Management Bhd chief executive officer and head Munirah Khairuddin said Malaysia’s performance demonstrated how modernisation of its financial sector could translate into better access to funding, stronger business confidence and broader economic progress.
“Its efforts to digitise financial services have brought more people into the system and transformed access to financial information and products. This has created ripples across the real economy.
“Scores for the financial system as an enabler of small and medium enterprise growth and business confidence have risen, while at a macro level, the labour market is strengthening and the gross domestic product growth has surged to multi-year highs,” she said.
The index also highlighted the link between digital financial infrastructure and financial inclusion, noting that markets making the strongest progress in financial inclusion in previous editions were those that had invested most heavily in digital financial infrastructure, particularly financial technology (fintech).
“Malaysia’s momentum shows how an established digital and fintech ecosystem can translate innovation into broader financial inclusion,” she said. — Bernama