Asia

June 27, 2023 @ 11:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

RockX, a firm focused on institutional-grade staking solutions throughout Asia, announced the appointment of Paul Mischenko as Head of Americas. This move is part of its commitment “to broaden its presence in the Americas, leveraging its well-established Asian base to drive this expansion.” RockX views… Read More

June 27, 2023 @ 9:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a report proposing a framework for designing open, interoperable networks for digital assets (i.e. tokenized real-economy and financial assets). The report Enabling Open & Interoperable Networks was jointly “developed with subject matter experts at the Bank for International… Read More

June 26, 2023 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Agel, which claims to be Egypt’s first and only Islamic FinTech, has announced today that the company has successfully “closed the pre-seed round for undisclosed seven-digit figures.” The investment round was “led by MENA-focused venture capital firms, Plus Venture Capital (+VC), Seedstars International Ventures, Flat6labs,… Read More

June 26, 2023 @ 2:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

QNB Group, in collaboration with IBM (NYSE: IBM) and its ecosystem partner, Mannai InfoTech, an ICT Division under Mannai Trading Company WLL have delivered an innovative, pioneering and engaging Digital Banking experience to its customers. IBM Consulting’s Business Transformation expertise, the IBM Garage methodology and… Read More

June 26, 2023 @ 9:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance, which claims to be the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider (and is being sued by US regulators for a wide range of issues), has announced the launch of a local digital asset platform in Kazakhstan. The move follows Binance securing “a… Read More

June 26, 2023 @ 7:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong’s card payments market is “expected to grow by 4.8% to reach HKD1.06 trillion ($136.0 billion) in 2023, supported by an economic rebound and a growing consumer preference for electronic payments,” says GlobalData, a data and analytics company. According to GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics,… Read More

June 25, 2023 @ 7:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A provider of digital payment solutions in the Asia Pacific, AsiaPay has announced the partnership with PayMe by HSBC in Hong Kong “to help local merchants provide more flexible payment options in a single device and enhance the purchase experience for consumers.” The partnership will… Read More

June 25, 2023 @ 7:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cashfree Payments, India’s leading payments and API banking company, announced the launch of CVV-free card payments for partner businesses. CVV-free payments allow customers “to experience faster, smoother, and more convenient checkouts for saved(tokenized) cards on major networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and RuPay.” By eliminating… Read More

June 23, 2023 @ 5:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pine Labs’ Qwikcilver, a provider of end-to-end gift card and stored value solutions, has partnered with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates to enable seamless issuance of refund and compensation vouchers through Qwikcilver’s Asset Manager solution. This solution has been “integrated… Read More

June 23, 2023 @ 11:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Xapo Bank, a “fully licensed” private bank that combines traditional banking with the utility of Bitcoin and stablecoins, announced that it will begin accepting members across South Asia, including India, “making its full suite of hybrid banking services and the financial opportunities they present accessible… Read More

June 23, 2023 @ 8:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, a global cybersecurity pioneer headquartered in Singapore, announced the relaunch of ChainKeeper, their security platform, which now includes a brand new SaaS model. With this update, the company further “cements its commitment to providing robust, comprehensive, and user-friendly cybersecurity tools for the ever-evolving… Read More

June 22, 2023 @ 10:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Jordan Ahli Bank announces the launch of Qawn, Jordan’s “first-of-its-kind” social payment app, revolutionizing the way users send and receive money through built-in chat capabilities. Now available for download “on Android and iPhone devices, Qawn caters to both individual users and merchants, offering a wide… Read More

June 22, 2023 @ 9:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

International insurtech bolttech announced its partnership with one of Taiwan’s telecommunications providers, Taiwan Mobile, in order “to offer a range of personal insurance options for customers on the Taiwan Mobile app.” Powered by bolttech’s insurance exchange platform, “the first phase of the partnership will see… Read More

June 22, 2023 @ 9:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ripple, which claims to be the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, announced that its Singapore subsidiary Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd, has obtained In-Principle Approval of the Major Payments Institution License application from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This license will allow… Read More

June 21, 2023 @ 9:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently caught up with Valerii Brizhatiuk, Chief Product Officer, Co-Founder at Swisstronik, a layer-1 solution designed to build scalable decentralized applications that ensure users’ data protection and privacy, while remaining in compliance with local regulations. According to the project team, Swisstronik is unique because… Read More

June 21, 2023 @ 8:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Gemini is pleased to announce their expansion plans in APAC as Gemini’s leadership team recently visited the region on their global odyssey “to propel the promise of crypto.” Over the next 12 months, they plan “to increase their headcount to 100+ in Singapore.” Gemini’s APAC… Read More

June 21, 2023 @ 7:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mambu has strengthened its presence in Thailand with the appointment of a new in-country team, led by Woratep Yunyongkul as Country Manager and Wiwat Masuchun as Regional Partner Manager. With extensive experience in banking and technology fields, the new Mambu Thailand team is poised “to… Read More

June 20, 2023 @ 11:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and Ambassador of India to the Philippines Shambhu Santha Kumaran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on June 19, 2023 at the Department of Finance (DOF) office in Manila “to enhance cooperation between the Philippines and India in the field… Read More

June 20, 2023 @ 10:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Eazy Financial Services B.S.C (EazyPay) and JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., Japan’s “only” international payment brand, have signed an agreement “to enable JCB payment acceptance at the bank’s POS and e-commerce merchants in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”… Read More

June 20, 2023 @ 9:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TransBnk, the Mumbai-based Fintech startup, has successfully raised $1 million in seed funding. The investment round was “led by 8i Ventures, the early stage India-focused VC fund known for its notable successes in the fintech space, including M2P, Slice, Easebuzz, amongst others.” Other contributors to… Read More