Asia

January 31, 2022 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Spendwisor Inc. has entered into an agreement with Gem Global Yield LLC SCS (GEM) in order to boost the existing facility size from QAR 190 million (appr. $50 million) to QAR 310 million (appr. $85 million). As mentioned in the update, this serves as a… Read More

January 31, 2022 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Axiata Digital’s Fintech division Boost is reportedly planning to expand its products and services while strengthening its regional presence. The firm announced these plans after a year of steady growth in revenues and product innovation. Boost reveals that its client base increased to more than… Read More

January 31, 2022 @ 8:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qwikcilver, a subsidiary of Pine Labs and provider of end-to-end gifting solutions, has teamed up with the Philippine Airlines (PAL) for its digital gift card program. Developed with assistance from travel tech firm Amadeus, this particular program will help PAL to further improve customer satisfaction… Read More

January 30, 2022 @ 9:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ForgeRock (NYSE: FORG), an international digital identity provider, recently announced its continued expansion across Asia and has made ForgeRock Identity Cloud “available locally from two new data centers in Indonesia and Hong Kong.” As mentioned in the update, this move expands ForgeRock’s Identity Cloud into… Read More

January 30, 2022 @ 9:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wise clients across the globe will now have the option to conduct quick, seamless and cost-effective global fund transfers to Weixin users residing in China from 11 different currencies, including SGD, USD and GBP. Wise (LON:WISE), the international tech firm focused on creating the best… Read More

January 30, 2022 @ 12:36 pm By Xu Gao  |  

HKEX Welcomes the First SPAC On January 17th, Aquila Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), submitted a listing application to HKEX. The sponsors of the company are CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) and AAC Mgmt Holding Ltd. According to the preliminary prospectus,… Read More

January 30, 2022 @ 12:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kazakhstan, which is reportedly the world’s second-largest miner of Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, has closed down its digital currency mining operations until the end of this month. Kazakhstan‘s State electricity provider KEGOC decided to cut off the supply to the virtual currency miners after… Read More

January 30, 2022 @ 12:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Jack Zhang, the Co-founder and CEO at Fintech Airwallex, notes that in the past year, they continued on their journey to build one of the biggest international financial infrastructures by expanding their platform capabilities and geographic presence. Zhang writes in a blog post that Airwallex… Read More

January 29, 2022 @ 4:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The ICICB Group claims that it has an established track record of launching innovative businesses and propositions with consistency. The Group is known for reviewing the scope of possibilities, from initial strategy to technical development. As mentioned in an update shared by the ICICB Group,… Read More

January 28, 2022 @ 7:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced on January 27, 2022 that they’ve launched a cross-border QR payment linkage. It will “enable instant, secure and efficient cross-border payments between Indonesia and Malaysia.” Via this linkage, consumers in both nations will be able to… Read More

January 27, 2022 @ 4:10 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Fintech firm XREX announced today it has obtained the money services business (MSB) license from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) under the Canadian government. The license allows the Taipei-based company to extend its crypto-fiat exchange services, which include cross-border payments, remittances, global… Read More

January 27, 2022 @ 7:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) is now approved to operate in Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, according to a statement from the company. The “modern card issuing platform” is now certified to operate in 39 different countries. Marqeta says it will open an office in Singapore in… Read More

January 26, 2022 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to a Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) report, Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management sectors registered an increase in AUM of more than 20% YoY, to HKD 34.9 trillion, as of end 2020. As one of the area’s most prominent wealth management hubs, Hong… Read More

January 26, 2022 @ 2:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Around 500,000 new merchants across the MENA region will soon be able to take advantage of seamless and convenient virtual payment acceptance via Network International’s Tap on Phone tech, which enables smartphones to serve as payment terminals. The project represents a key milestone between Mastercard… Read More

January 26, 2022 @ 12:26 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Pencilton, a teen-focused Fintech startup based in India, recently launched PencilCard, a debit card that is compliant with National Common Mobility Card standards. It has been launched in partnership with Transcorp. The National Common Mobility Card was developed by India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban… Read More

January 25, 2022 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of one of the world’s largest Islamic banks in terms of assets, Al Rajhi Bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), has chosen Thought Machine, the Cloud native core banking tech company, in order to power… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

M2P Fintech, which claims to be one of Asia’s leading financial Infrastructure firms, has announced a $56 million Series C1 raise that was led by New York-headquartered global private equity and VC firm Insight Partners M2P Fintech further revealed that their investment round included contributions… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 10:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Netizen Mobile Banking App by Netbank is reportedly scheduled to launch its Beta Release Testing Program during the fourth week of January 2022 which will provide participants an opportunity to experience the platform’s banking services and features. As mentioned in a release shared with… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 9:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sequoia Capital has reportedly made its first investment in the Gulf / MENA region by leading an investment round for Lean Technologies, a Saudi Arabia-based Fintech company whose founders include the son of the kingdom’s former oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih. Lean Technologies, which allows firms… Read More

January 23, 2022 @ 10:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bahrain-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Rain Financial has secured $110 million in capital via a Series B round. Rain Financial reports that its investment round has been co-led by Paradigm and Kleiner Perkins along with contributions from Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital, MEVP, Cadenza Ventures, and CMT… Read More