KUALA LUMPUR: The appointment of Melvin Ooi, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Ryt Bank – one of the earlier digital banks in Malaysia – as the chief technology and transformation officer (CTTO) of Bank Islam shows the bank's aggressive push towards digitalisation.

Ooi noted that transforming a 43-year-old legacy bank's digital architecture poses a unique challenge compared to starting a digital bank from scratch.

The architectural mandate requires continuous delivery so that customers experience immediate benefits rather than waiting years for a massive system overhaul, he said.

"After building a digital bank, the opportunity of transforming a legacy bank is too hard to resist," said Ooi. He was the founding CEO of Ryt Bank, a digital bank backed by YTL Group and SEA Ltd – two giants in their own rights in Southeast Asia's corporate scene.