January 27, 2026 @ 5:20 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s central bank published the next phase of its sustainable finance taxonomy, as the city steps up efforts to channel capital towards green and transition activities and support its shift to a low-carbon economy. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said it has released… Read More

January 26, 2026 @ 9:47 am By Michael Wong  |  

PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL)said it has agreed to acquire Cymbio, a multi-channel commerce orchestration platform, as the payments giant steps up its push into AI-powered and agentic commerce. The deal will strengthen PayPal’s ability to help merchants sell products across so-called agentic surfaces, including AI platforms… Read More

January 25, 2026 @ 1:39 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Sweden’s EQT said it will launch a 57.0 billion yen ($371 million) tender offer to take private MAMEZO, a Tokyo-based IT services and consulting firm, in the private equity group’s first Japan investment focused on IT services. BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Partnership will offer 3,551… Read More

January 25, 2026 @ 7:19 am By Michael Wong  |  

Kuwait Investment Authority-backed Raqami Islamic Digital Bank (RIDB) plans to begin operations in Pakistan next month with a $100 million investment, Bloomberg reported, marking another Gulf-backed entry into the country’s financial sector. The lender will become Pakistan’s first fully digital Shariah-compliant bank, offering online financing,… Read More

January 24, 2026 @ 4:45 pm By Michael Wong  |  

San Francisco–based startup GIGR (doing business as Playad) said it has raised $5.4 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate the development of AI-powered marketing agents designed to help companies create, test, and optimise advertising creative with less manual effort. The round was led by BRV… Read More

January 24, 2026 @ 3:12 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore launched a new governance framework aimed at guiding the safe and responsible deployment of agentic artificial intelligence, as governments and businesses grapple with the growing autonomy of AI systems. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo announced the Model AI Governance Framework (MGF)… Read More

January 22, 2026 @ 10:17 am By Michael Wong  |  

A bipartisan pair of US senators introduced legislation that would ease a key compliance cost for early-stage companies raising money online, lifting the point at which small businesses must pay for an independent accountant review when using securities crowdfunding. Similar legislation in the House has… Read More

January 21, 2026 @ 10:10 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Moroccan Fintech Woliz has raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by insurer Sanlam Maroc to build a digital ecosystem for neighbourhood merchants, as investors hunt for ways to modernise a retail sector that still runs largely on cash and paper. Woliz, which… Read More

January 19, 2026 @ 8:28 am By Michael Wong  |  

Aether Holdings’ Alpha Edge Media has acquired Coinstack, an institutional-focused cryptocurrency newsletter and media platform with more than 340,000 subscribers, as the Nasdaq-listed Fintech group expands its financial content and data business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Coinstack will continue to operate… Read More

January 19, 2026 @ 12:51 am By Michael Wong  |  

Veera, a Singapore-based crypto financial services platform focused on self-custody wallets and decentralised finance tools, has raised $10 million across its pre-seed and seed funding rounds as it expands its on-chain financial services and prepares to roll out a crypto-linked payment card. The company said… Read More

January 18, 2026 @ 2:46 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Fujitsu Ltd and Standard Chartered’s innovation unit SC Ventures have laid out a roadmap for Qubitra Technologies, a London-headquartered joint venture aimed at speeding up commercial use of quantum computing in finance. The partners said the business, previously incubated as “Project Quanta” announced in September… Read More

January 17, 2026 @ 9:24 am By Michael Wong  |  

Global payment volumes on cryptocurrency-linked cards climbed to about $1.5 billion a month in August, up from roughly $100 million a month in January 2023, as stablecoins increasingly move from trading and remittances into everyday spending, digital finance data platform Artemis said in a report…. Read More

January 14, 2026 @ 2:13 am By Michael Wong  |  

Pakistan’s fintech sector has expanded digital access over the past decade, but the harder task is getting people to use digital payments in everyday life as cash retains a strong grip on daily commerce, Pakistan’s The Tribune reported, citing an Asian Development Bank (ADB) assessment… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 12:46 am By Michael Wong  |  

Republic Polytechnic (RP) rolled out a campus-wide artificial intelligence (AI) transformation strategy, pledging to redesign curricula, upskill staff, and broaden partnerships with technology firms as Singapore pushes to build a deeper pipeline of AI-skilled talent. RP said the initiative aims to embed practical and responsible… Read More

January 11, 2026 @ 10:13 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Malaysia’s top anti-graft official has warned that the absence of clear laws governing online crowdfunding has opened the door to widespread abuse of public donations, as authorities probe alleged misuse linked to high-profile fundraising campaigns. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki said irresponsible… Read More

January 11, 2026 @ 3:17 pm By Michael Wong  |  

PhotonPay, a stablecoin-based payments infrastructure provider, said it had raised a Series B funding round of “tens of millions of dollars” led by IDG Capital, as investors step up bets on blockchain-enabled rails for cross-border commerce. Hillhouse Investment also participated alongside Enlight Capital, Lightspeed Faction,… Read More

January 11, 2026 @ 3:09 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Rain, which provides infrastructure that lets companies issue stablecoin-linked wallets and payment cards, said it raised $250 million in a Series C round led by ICONIQ, valuing the company at $1.95 billion. The financing also drew participation from Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, Bessemer Venture Partners, Galaxy… Read More

January 11, 2026 @ 1:11 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Nasdaq said Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) will join the Nasdaq-100 Index and a set of related benchmarks on Jan. 20, 2026, replacing AstraZeneca, in a change that could prompt portfolio rebalancing among funds that track the widely followed gauge. The exchange operator said the move will… Read More

January 10, 2026 @ 5:21 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Lafayette Digital Acquisition Corp. I, a newly formed special purpose acquisition company focused on financial technology, said it had priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $250 million, adding to a tentative revival in new SPAC listings in the US. The Cayman Islands-registered company sold… Read More

January 10, 2026 @ 5:16 pm By Michael Wong  |  

BV Investment Partners, a U.S. private equity firm focused on tech-enabled business services, has raised $2.465 billion for its latest buyout vehicle, hitting the fund’s hard cap and beating its initial $2.0 billion target, the firm said. The Boston-based investor said the fund reached a… Read More