CelcomDigi strengthens commitment to secure digital financial ecosystem through regional API innovation with Bridge Alliance

• Joins BAEx to boost digital security and cross-border API innovation
• MoU affirms push for secure digital transactions & API innovation in Malaysia

CelcomDigi Berhad has announced a partnership with Bridge Alliance, the leading mobile alliance formed by premier telecommunications operators across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. In a statement, the telco said the memorandum of understanding reinforces its commitment to enhancing digital financial transaction security and advancing API-as-a-Service innovation as part of Malaysia’s digital economy agenda.

The MoU also marks CelcomDigi’s participation in the Bridge Alliance API Exchange (BAEx) Partner Programme, joining a network of leading telcos driving cross-border digital innovation through open, standardised telco APIs.

According to CelcomDigi, the company is spearheading efforts to develop and scale secure, GSMA-aligned open APIs that will empower financial services industry partners with telco-grade authentication capabilities such as number verification, SIM swap detection, and device location intelligence. These tools are critical to improving fraud detection, addressing online scam risks, enabling real-time risk management, and ensuring safer digital transactions.

CelcomDigi’s CEO, Idham Nawawi (pic), said: “This collaboration with Bridge Alliance marks a significant step in our commitment to advancing digital trust and enabling a more secure digital economy in Malaysia and across the region. By opening up secure, interoperable telco APIs, we are empowering the financial services ecosystem to deliver trusted, seamless, and smarter digital experiences.”

“We’re pleased to be part of the BAEx Partner Programme, helping businesses scale confidently across markets with the speed, simplicity, and reliability offered by telco-grade APIs,” he added.

BAEx is an industry-led initiative that enables participating telcos to deliver CAMARA-based APIs through a unified, standardised framework aligned with GSMA’s Open Gateway standards. CelcomDigi’s active involvement in BAEx will support faster go-to-market execution for developers and enterprise partners seeking to integrate secure APIs across multiple regional markets.

Bridge Alliance’s CEO, Dr Ong Geok Chwee, said: “We’re pleased to welcome CelcomDigi to BAEx. Malaysia is a strategic market in Southeast Asia, and CelcomDigi’s participation alongside other Malaysian operators will accelerate market coverage and bring new opportunities via a suite of harmonised APIs to enable digital transformation among ecosystem partners, developers, and enterprises across high-trust sectors like banking, fintech, e-commerce, and travel.”

CelcomDigi stated that its APIs will be more accessible via the BAEx open exchange, simplifying integration for global developers and enterprises and enabling the creation of secure services without the complexity of individual telco integrations. This supports a seamless, innovation-friendly digital ecosystem across borders.

This announcement follows CelcomDigi’s recent API-as-a-Service milestones, including a collaboration with Ericsson via the Aduna platform and a strategic partnership with PayNet, Malaysia’s national payments network, to enhance digital transaction security. The company said it continues to work closely with financial institutions to introduce new API use cases such as SIM-based authentication and location-based verification for safer access to digital banking and e-wallet services.

It added that through BAEx and other strategic collaborations, the company is driving a trusted, inclusive, and innovation-led digital economy for businesses and consumers alike.