Terry KS PayNet’s PayHack 2025, Malaysia’s largest intervarsity hackathon, brought together over 400 students from 21 universities to develop groundbreaking solutions for digital payments and financial inclusion. Universiti Malaya’s RoadTo20K team emerged as champions with BizKuKu, a platform designed to empower MSMEs with low digital literacy.
MALAYSIA, 4 SEPTEMBER 2025 – Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), through its PayNet Akar environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiative, successfully concluded PayHack 2025, the country’s largest intervarsity hackathon. The event, co-organised with Ant International and supported by Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), gathered more than 400 students from 21 public and private universities nationwide.
Seventeen teams advanced to the finals, held on 2–3 August at Xsolla Curine Academy in KL Eco City, where students worked around the clock to transform their concepts into working prototypes. Participants tackled critical challenges in areas such as cybersecurity, MSME enablement, ESG integration, and innovation in digital payments.
“PayHack is more than a competition. It’s a platform for young innovators to reimagine what’s possible and to lead with purpose, collaboration, and creativity,” said Shafenaz Farouk, PayNet’s Chief People Officer. “Through PayHack, we’re nurturing the next generation of changemakers who will shape the future of payments with innovation, integrity, and impact.”
The winning team, RoadTo20K from Universiti Malaya, clinched the top prize with BizKuKu, an all-in-one digital platform enabling MSMEs with limited digital literacy to seamlessly register, manage, and scale their businesses. The solution integrates Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) registration, banking, digital payments, marketplace access, financial insights, and AI-driven funding recommendations.
Other winners included Roti CanAI from APU in second place, Pineapple Donkey from Heriot-Watt University Malaysia in third, Da House from APU in fourth, and TapirPay from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in fifth. Special awards went to X-Chain from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) for the Hustler Award and PEPE from USM for the Pitch Perfect Award.
The RM55,000 prize pool awarded RM20,000 to the champions, with cash prizes distributed among other top finalists. Student innovations ranged from fraud prevention tools and eKYC-linked security systems to sustainability-focused payment platforms and digital onboarding solutions for MSMEs.
Beginning in June, PayHack 2025 attracted more than 90 team submissions. Following preliminary and semifinal rounds, finalists benefited from expert mentorship by PayNet, Ant International, Bank Islam Malaysia, and FWD Insurance, before presenting their prototypes to a distinguished panel of judges from across the financial services ecosystem.
With the tagline “Innovating Digital Payments, QRiously,” PayHack 2025 reinforced PayNet Akar and Ant International’s shared commitment to building an innovation-ready, values-driven talent pipeline to future-proof Malaysia’s financial services industry.
