Asia

September 20, 2021 @ 8:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

NEFT or National Electronics Funds Transfer is a facility provided (in India) by nearly all the local banking institutions. As explained in a blog post by Fintech firm Paytm, NEFT is among the most preferred methods of making money transfers in India. Via NEFT, users… Read More

September 20, 2021 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the French Development Agency, have committed to a grant facility agreement of 700,000 Euros (appr. PHP 41.3 million) in order to support the Philippines’ financial inclusion efforts,… Read More

September 20, 2021 @ 7:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

NTUC Income, an insurance cooperative based in Singapore, recently revealed that it has introduced a micro investment-related plan (ILP) via the SNACK by Income mobile app. SNACK Investment has reportedly taken a stackable approach that enables clients to create their investment portfolios with bite-sized premiums… Read More

September 20, 2021 @ 7:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

XM Studios, a firm that’s backed by Heliconia Capital, reveals a new listing of exchangeable notes on digital securities investment platform ADDX – previously doing business as iSTOX. As mentioned in an update shared with CI, the deal secures SGD 4.5 million in additional capital… Read More

September 20, 2021 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Dacxi,  a crypto-asset exchange, has announced a new investment crowdfunding service that utilizes its Dacxi Chain, a bespoke blockchain. According to a release, the tokenized crowdfunding system is “designed to close the innovation-funding gap.” Ian Lowe, CEO Dacxi, says “the global enterprise economy comprises of… Read More

September 19, 2021 @ 6:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pine Labs, which is one of Asia’s leading merchant commerce platforms, revealed earlier this week that it has finalized a new investment round in the company “with the entry” of Invesco, a US-headquartered investment management firm. Invesco Developing Markets Fund has reportedly invested $100 million… Read More

September 19, 2021 @ 4:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Axiata Digital’s digital wallet Boost revealed earlier this week that it has further expanded its insurance offerings with the introduction of automobile insurance, called “CarProtect,” which has been underwritten by Great Eastern General Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad. The digital wallet provider stated that CarProtect provides clients… Read More

September 19, 2021 @ 10:52 am By Xu Gao  |  

E-Sign Completes 1.2-Billion-Yuan E round of Financing On September 13th, digital signature service provider E-Sign completed a 1.2-billion-yuan E round of financing, with participation from Sequoia China, IDG Capital, Hidden Hill Capital, Guangxi Investment Group, Wenshi Investment, Fortune Capital, and Grand Flight. Established in 2002,… Read More

September 17, 2021 @ 10:39 am By JD Alois  |  

AI startup Upstage has raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by SoftBank Ventures Asia and Company K Partners. Other investors include TBT Partners, Premier Partners, Stonebridge Ventures, and Primer Sazze Fund. Korea-based Upstage is a firm that develops technologies designed to… Read More

September 16, 2021 @ 6:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Singapore Police Force (SPF) recently revealed that malicious actors overseas had been able to divert and use SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) to carry out fraudulent credit card transfers impacting 75 banking clients based… Read More

September 16, 2021 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Change, a European crypto investment platform, says it has opened an office in Singapore in the first step towards global expansion. Singapore is a noted Fintech hub that is supported by a regulatory regime that seeks to enable Fintech innovation. This past summer, Change reported… Read More

September 15, 2021 @ 9:48 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

FinScore, the Philippines-based alternative credit scoring provider, has partnered with Welcome Bank (Rural Bank), a Philippine subsidiary of Korea’s Welcome Financial Group, to improve the latter’s fraud prevention methods. Welcome Financial Group currently operates the fourth-largest savings bank in assets and 12 other subsidiaries in… Read More

September 15, 2021 @ 9:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

HaloDAO is collaborating with YGG for “local” stablecoin support “for simpler cash out,” according to an update shared with Crowdfund Insider. HaloDAO, a stablecoin marketplace protocol, is working cooperatively with Yield Guild Games (YGG) to “enable YGG community members to support simpler cash outs in… Read More

September 15, 2021 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

As has been widely reported, China Evergrande Group (HKEX:3333), China’s second-largest property developer, is flashing default signals on its corporate debt.  In a corporate statement Evergrande said that the company expects a “significant continuing decline in contract sales in September, thereby resulting in the continuous… Read More

September 14, 2021 @ 10:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in Pakistan has added contactless biometric verification services for the nation’s banking and payments sector, making the Asian nation one of the first in the world to introduce the tech on a State-wide level. As first reported by… Read More

September 14, 2021 @ 11:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

DBS (SGX:D05) has introduced real-time online tracking of cross-border collections for companies in India through a partnership with SWIFT Global Payments Innovation (gpi). DBS is reportedly first bank in India and the Asia-Pacific region to provide this service to customers, which should benefit around 4,000… Read More

September 14, 2021 @ 10:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Coronavirus crisis has led to an international surge in digital commerce sales and online or all-digital businesses, as nationwide lockdowns have forced customers to engage with e-commerce platforms. As consumers continue to use digital commerce platforms and make cashless payments with virtual cards and… Read More

September 14, 2021 @ 7:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hedera Hashgraph, the “most used,” sustainable, enterprise-grade public network for the decentralized economy, reveals that the Indian Institutes of Technology Madras (IITM) has become the latest member of its Governing Council. The technology-focused University has joined a rotating Council of “up to” 39 international  organizations… Read More

September 14, 2021 @ 7:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland-based vestr, a platform that fully digitizes the life-cycle management of actively managed investment products, has reportedly expanded its business operations to Singapore, after teaming up with Julius Baer via F10’s Fintech incubator program. As noted by its management: “Julius Baer is the international reference… Read More

September 13, 2021 @ 10:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the global division of the National Payment Corporation of India, has teamed up with Liquid Group Pte. Ltd., a cross border payments provider, in order to support UPI QR-enabled payments acceptance in 10 different markets across North Asia and Southeast… Read More