Asia

August 30, 2022 @ 11:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Lightnet Group announced that it has secured a $50 million capital commitment from LDA Capital Ltd “to grow its infrastructure, operations, and expand its technological partner’s (Velo Labs Technology) blockchain technology.” Lightnet will “have the option to increase the $50 million to a total… Read More

August 30, 2022 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

banco (RABC Group) has raised USD $6.7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by SBI Group, alongside investors Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), R3, Savills, KZM & Company, and others. Based in Singapore and founded in 2018, banco has subsidiaries in both… Read More

August 29, 2022 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) recently announced granting permit to a new batch of companies; Lean Technologies and Mod5r to “provide Open Banking Solutions; bringing the total number of permitted Fintech companies operating under its Regulatory Sandbox to 38.” This step completes “a series of… Read More

August 29, 2022 @ 8:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Zywa, a teen-focused fintech aiming to “re-imagine” banking for Gen Z in the MENA region, has completed a seed funding round of $3 million. Investors who took part in the investment round reportedly “include Goodwater Capital (the largest consumer tech VC globally), Dubai Future District… Read More

August 29, 2022 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Karachi-headquartered Fintech firm Safepay HQ is reportedly going live with Cybersource (a product of payments service provider Visa) in order to bring Pakistani merchants new ways to allow their clients to pay them online. Safepay is a payment service provider that has reportedly received pilot… Read More

August 29, 2022 @ 12:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

MAS Supports Digital Asset Innovation, No Ban on Crypto Trading but Seeks to Limit Retail Access Singapore is a top global Fintech hub and the leading Asian center for innovation in financial services. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has long aided the digitization of… Read More

August 28, 2022 @ 11:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech Revolut, the global financial superapp with over 20 million customers, has appointed Raymond Ng as Singapore CEO “as it continues to grow in Singapore.” The new appointment “follows Revolut recently announcing the launch of its crypto products in Singapore.” Revolut‘s customer base in Singapore… Read More

August 28, 2022 @ 10:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

ADDX, facilitating private digital securities, now offers a cash management option in collaboration with OCBC Group’s Lion Global Investors. Parked cash loses value and now ADDX users to sweep funds into a digital wallet with an interest-generating account. ADDX, a company backed by SGX, leverages… Read More

August 28, 2022 @ 7:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On August 17, 2022, Binance and the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) held a workshop designed “to deepen SERC officials’ understanding of the digital asset space.” Binance has once again “reaffirmed its commitment to establishing productive collaborations with SERC and sharing its vast… Read More

August 28, 2022 @ 6:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech company DongPlus launched by Aventus Group in Vietnam in 2021 joins the PeerBerry platform. DongPlus will “offer PeerBerry investors to invest in short-term loans with a 12% annual return.” Vietnamese loans are “backed by a buyback and a group guarantee.” Arūnas Lekavičius, CEO of… Read More

August 27, 2022 @ 7:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SubsBase, which claims to be the first and only subscription and recurring revenue management platform catering to the MENA region, announced it “has successfully closed its seed round at $2.4 million.” The investment round was “led by Global Ventures, a leading MEA-focused venture capital firm.”… Read More

August 27, 2022 @ 5:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Abu Dhabi Blockchain and Virtual Assets Committee (ADBVAC) held its first meeting, “under the chairmanship of H.E Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Chairman Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), to discuss strategy for blockchain and… Read More

August 26, 2022 @ 7:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank (SCSB), one of the listed banks in Taiwan, has selected Temenos and IBM in order “to replace its legacy core systems with Temenos open platform for composable banking.” Part of the IBM Ecosystem, Temenos and IBM have successfully “teamed for… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 9:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

valU, MENA’s Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle-enabling fintech platform, announced that it “acquired 100% of Paynas, a full-fledged employee management and benefits company that provides financial services to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) in a signing ceremony attended by Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 9:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UnionBank continues the digital transformation of its wealth management business with the Avaloq Core Platform. This will “help the bank to stay ahead of the technology curve as the financial industry continues to digitalize in the pursuit of greater efficiency and innovation.” Avaloq is “implementing… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 9:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

It would be an understatement to say that the past couple years have been disruptive for businesses, the Razorpay team noted in a blog post. The pandemic led to major changes in consumer behavior and businesses had to adapt to the new environment and “new… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 4:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tamara, a Saudi Arabia-based buy now- pay later (BNPL) provider, has raised $100 million in Series B funding, according to multiple reports. Tamara operates in Saudi as well as the UAE and Kuwait. Tamara is said to be the first BNPL to make its way… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 4:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Services Commission of Korea has issued a warning to 16 unregistered “Virtual Asset Service Providers” or VASPs – the term utilized by the FATF for crypto exchanges. According to a statement by the Commission, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) has notified 16… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 10:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Funding Societies, a Southeast Asian SME finance provider, has gained a USD $50 million credit facility from HSBC Singapore. The additional capital will be utilized to provide financing to underserved SMEs in the region. Funding Societies reports that commercial lending in Asia Pacific is expected… Read More

August 21, 2022 @ 9:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) launched a public consultation about the “National Blockchain Blueprint for Qatar,” which was collaboratively “developed by CRA, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Qatar University, with the aim of receiving the views and comments of stakeholders and concerned parties in Qatar on… Read More