Asia

July 3, 2023 @ 7:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PeerBerry investors funded €65.12 million of loans in June and received €819,213 in interest. The amount of funded loans on the PeerBerry platform “was 3% higher than the previous month.” PeerBerry’s portfolio “amounted to €115.17 million at the end of June.” 1205 new investors “joined… Read More

July 2, 2023 @ 2:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Robo.cash claims that it sees strong potential for the Asian fintech market, which is already setting certain trends, according to an update from the firm. The parent holding of Robo.cash plans “to focus on digital banking” in Asian markets. During the Finfellas P2P conference in… Read More

July 1, 2023 @ 10:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

OCBC (SGX: O39) has launched a fully digital account opening service for consumers in its key markets who are relocating to Singapore. These individuals from Malaysia, Indonesia, mainland China and Hong Kong SAR will be able to “open Singapore dollar and multi-currency accounts on the… Read More

July 1, 2023 @ 9:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PETRONAS has announced the selection of 20 startups from across Asia Pacific to participate in the third edition of PETRONAS FutureTech, an intensive technology accelerator program. FutureTech 3.0, “co-organized with StartupX Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based innovation, venture and startup enabler, marks a significant milestone as… Read More

July 1, 2023 @ 6:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In efforts to further strengthen its online banking ecosystem and protect its customers, Maybank announced that it has successfully completed the migration to Secure2u for online banking services including bill payments and DuitNow, FPX and IBG transactions. Maybank is fully supportive of and has “completed… Read More

June 30, 2023 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Driven by the banking giants’ continuous quest for digital excellence and in line with its ambitious transformation strategy, the financial service provider announced the launch of DIB alt, which is described as “a full-fledged digital umbrella brand to house all of the bank’s digital offerings… Read More

June 30, 2023 @ 7:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gr4vy, the Cloud-native payments infrastructure company, announced a new investment from W23, Woolworths Group’s venture capital arm. This strategic investment expands “on an existing partnership and reflects continued confidence in Gr4vy from Australia and New Zealand’s largest retailer.” Gr4vy previously “raised $27.2M in total funding… Read More

June 29, 2023 @ 5:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Schroders announces a tokenized investment vehicle project to explore the capabilities for personalization and simplification of investments that blockchain technology could deliver. Schroders is participating in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, a ground-breaking initiative that aims “to develop a responsible and innovative digital… Read More

June 27, 2023 @ 10:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A total of 2,765 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals were announced in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during January to May 2023, “a decline of 16.3% compared to the 3,304 M&A deals announced during the same period in the previous year,” finds GlobalData, a data and… Read More

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