Asia

May 3, 2022 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Open Financial Technologies has reportedly acquired $50 million in capital via a Series D funding round that was led by IIFL Finance. Existing investors Tiger Global, Temasek and 3one4 Capital have also made contributions to  Open Financial Technologies latest investment round. Neobanking platform Open Financial… Read More

May 2, 2022 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Optimism, one of the four “major” Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solutions, will soon be “launching a new governance and incentive token, OP, much to the community’s excitement.” This launch, which includes airdrops to early adopters and active users and contributors, has “the potential to stir… Read More

May 1, 2022 @ 6:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ICICI Bank (BSE: ICICIBANK, NYSE:IBN) announced that it has introduced India’s “first” comprehensive digital ecosystem for all MSMEs in the country, “including customers of other banks.” The ecosystem “has three pillars: i) enhanced banking services for existing customers, ii) a bouquet of banking services to… Read More

April 30, 2022 @ 1:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

JS Bank, a leading commercial bank operating in Pakistan, has enhanced its Core Banking platform with assistance from IT firm NdcTech (as the implementation partner for the upgraded system). This deployment is a key part of JS Bank’s overall strategy to rebuild its tech and… Read More

April 30, 2022 @ 12:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KreditBee, which claims to be one of India’s “leading” Fintech platforms, recently announced the launch of ‘KreditBee 24K Gold’, a digital gold investment product. Clients may “securely” purchase digital gold “with 99.5% purity at live market rates with a single tap on the KreditBee app.”… Read More

April 30, 2022 @ 12:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Asia-Pacific is getting ready for the next phase of its real-time payments journey as the region’s key service providers look for new growth opportunities and prepare “to enter the next stage of their real-time payments development.” This, according to the third edition of Prime Time… Read More

April 27, 2022 @ 10:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Finbots.AI, an “Artificial Intelligence-envisioned” firm for financial services, has raised $3 million in a Series A round funded by a single investor – Accel. The VC made the investment via its Fund VII and is said to be the first external investment Finbots.AI has raised…. Read More

April 27, 2022 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) has announced a partnership with BNY Mellon, a global bank based in New York City. BNY Mellon has had a presence in Singapore since 1974. Singapore has long been a robust Fintech hub in Southeast Asia. BNY Mellon also said it… Read More

April 27, 2022 @ 6:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

AntChain, the “flagship” tech brand of Ant Group, recently launched a new video copy detection solution “to help make copyright protection technologies more efficient and accessible to content creators.” With the recently developed algorithms, AntChain’s new solution can “precisely identify and localize infringements in video… Read More

April 26, 2022 @ 9:20 am By JD Alois  |  

OCBC Bank and MetaVerse Green Exchange (MVGX) – both based in Singapore, will partner on a digital exchange for carbon credits. MVGX is a “digital green exchange” licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. OCBC Bank is the longest established Singapore bank and… Read More

April 25, 2022 @ 10:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

WeLab Bank, the virtual bank dedicated to “curating intelligent banking experience,” has reportedly become the “first” digital bank in Hong Kong licensed “to offer digital wealth advisory services.” Having obtained the Type 1 (Dealing in securities) and Type 4 (Advising on securities) licenses from the… Read More

April 25, 2022 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital asset marketplace Zipmex has announced a new partnership with the National Rugby League, A-League and community sports teams in Australia. The goal is to broaden exposure and understanding of crypto markets. The partnership includes professional teams Penrith Panthers Rugby League Football Club and Central… Read More

April 24, 2022 @ 10:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A report by Huobi Research Institute has noted that the future development of on-chain cryptocurrency perpetual contracts is constrained “by the performance of their underlying public chains, with a breakthrough in the latter needed for the former to thrive.” The report from Huobi, titled “On-chain… Read More

April 24, 2022 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The UAE Trade Connect (UTC) is pleased to confirm that the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has joined its consortium of UAE banks “utilizing its blockchain platform to help de-risk trade finance.” UTC is the Fintech blockchain platform of e& enterprises, from e& (formerly known… Read More

April 24, 2022 @ 9:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chargebee, the subscription management platform, recently revealed it has teamed up with Razorpay, India’s full-stack financial solutions firm, in order to provide subscription billing services across the country. The collaboration confirms Chargebee’s ongoing commitment to customer growth and globalization with expanded capabilities to address complex… Read More

April 23, 2022 @ 5:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tarabut Gateway has reportedly been granted a license by Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to offer money services in and from Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). DFSA is the independent regulator of financial services in DIFC, which claims to be “the leading global financial center”… Read More

April 22, 2022 @ 2:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

hoolah, which claims to be Asia’s leading omnichannel ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) platform, recently announced its partnership with Primer, the “first” no-code automation platform for payments and commerce, “allowing merchants in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong to integrate hoolah’s BNPL solution, while providing consumers… Read More

April 21, 2022 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Abhi, which claims to be Pakistan’s “first-ever” financial wellness platform, enabling employees to access accrued salary in advance, recently announced the completion of a $17 million Series A raise. As noted in an update shared with CI, the fund raise was led by VC  firm… Read More

April 20, 2022 @ 9:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In the APAC region, regulatory authorities have reportedly been working on frameworks and guidelines in order take account of various products and services that are being launched due to ongoing Fintech innovation and the rise of emerging technologies. However, with the COVID crisis significantly accelerating… Read More

April 20, 2022 @ 4:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Australia Treasury and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently signed the Australia-Singapore Fintech Bridge Agreement in order “to strengthen cooperation between the Fintech ecosystems of both countries.” The commencement of discussions to develop the Fintech Bridge was “announced in June 2021, when Australian Prime… Read More