Asia

May 27, 2021 @ 10:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Airstar, one of a select few digital banks approved by Hong Kong regulators, has announced SME banking services. AirStar states that following its launch in the summer of 2020 it has experienced a steady increase of both deposit accounts and loan customers and it is… Read More

May 26, 2021 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Mojaloop Foundation revealed on Wednesday (May 26, 2021) that MAS will be joining the Mojaloop Foundation as a Sponsor-level member in order to collaborate on offering the underserved access to “affordable” financial services via digital currency based settlement… Read More

May 25, 2021 @ 11:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

hoolah, a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Fintech, has partnered with BridgerPay – a payments platform that operates in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. According to a not from the company, hoolah is the first and only BNPL provider in Asia to partner with BridgerPay… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

i2c Inc., an established provider of digital payment and banking tech, revealed on Monday (May 23, 2021) that it has partnered with INVESTBANK, a bank offering various financial solutions in Jordan. i2c’s plug-and-play platform will reportedly power credit issuing and acquiring capabilities for INVESTBANK. Through… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech Easypaisa has launched an API developer portal in order to enable seamless third-party integrations. Pakistan’s branchless banking service provider, Easypaisa, has confirmed that its API Developer Portal is now live. It may now be used by third parties for integration, sandbox testing environments, and… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 10:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Central Bank of Kuwait has issued a statement on crypto assets and their risks. Kuwait‘s reserve bank says that it aims to enhance financial awareness and intends to encourage the Kuwaiti banking sector to adopt socially responsible business practices. The Central Bank of Kuwait… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 9:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed Buy Now, Pay Later Fintech Zip is reportedly expanding its business operations into European markets and the Middle East. Zip says it’s acquiring European BNPL Fintech Twisto and UAE’s Spotii as well. Zip reportedly took part in a €16 million investment… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 1:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

ZA Bank and Mox are reportedly leading Hong Kong’s digital bank market,  accounting for around 70% of all virtual banking customer deposits (as of the end of last year). This, according to a report from Reuters that referenced annual reports from banks in the city…. Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 12:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has revealed that it has seen dramatic growth in its digital payments volume during the last year. The value of InstaPay and PESONet money transfers of RCBC Online and its mobile banking app surged 293% when compared to volumes reported… Read More

May 23, 2021 @ 10:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital life insurance provider Blue has introduced the #WeSupport initiative to offer its clients with free post-vaccination protection from April 8, 2021 to  July 31, 2021. As noted by Blue’s management: “Blue is Hong Kong’s first digital life insurer – in fact we are more… Read More

May 23, 2021 @ 8:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Over 800,000 residents in the Philippines have reportedly signed up with the nation’s Identification System (PhilSys) through digital or online registration. This, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). As reported by Fintech News Philippines, the nation’s government has been asking locals to… Read More

May 23, 2021 @ 8:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech businesses in Singapore have secured a total of SGD 656 million (appr. $492.8 million) in equity funding during Q1 2021. This figure represents a 355% increase from last year, according to a recent report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The rise in Fintech… Read More

May 22, 2021 @ 1:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wholesale banking has been undervalued, however, it has provided consistent results during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a recent report from Oliver Wyman and Morgan Stanley. The wholesale and transaction banking report, titled “Striving to Sustain Returns,” reveals that markets and investment banking were significantly… Read More

May 22, 2021 @ 10:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The reserve bank of Bahrain has shared its commentary on the work being done by retail banks to implement the infrastructure for compliance with the Bahrain Open Banking Framework (Bahrain OBF). This work was carried out after a grace period that allowed for implementation which… Read More

May 22, 2021 @ 9:02 am By Xu Gao  |  

Hotels of the HUAZHU Group in Shanghai Will Now Accept Digital RMB Payments From May 21st, all hotels of HUAZHU Group in Shanghai will be able to accept digital RMB payment. According to HUAZHU, digital RMB will be accepted when guests check in at the… Read More

May 22, 2021 @ 8:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at BitOoda, a global digital asset financial technology and services platform offering risk management solutions, “best-execution” brokerage and market analysis, notes that in China, Vice Premier Liu He, in a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Committee, had stated on Friday (May… Read More

May 21, 2021 @ 7:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Standard Chartered (LON: STAN)  has committed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with payments company Tazapay in order to provide digital escrow services to buyers and sellers interested in trading globally via Proxtera, a B2B marketplace network. The initiative is Standard Chartered’s very first escrow-as-a-service… Read More

May 21, 2021 @ 5:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sanctions research from blockchain security firm CipherTrace reveals that over 72,000 “unique” Iranian IP addresses have been linked to over 4.5 million “unique” Bitcoin (BTC) addresses. CipherTrace notes that since monitoring sanctions-related IP usage across the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain network, they’ve been able to identify… Read More

May 21, 2021 @ 11:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Multiple reports are indicating that China continues to put the squeeze on cryptocurrency. Long ago, China officially halted crypto trading but the country has long been home to many crypto miners. In fact, according to the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance (CCAF)Bitcoin Mining Map, China… Read More

May 20, 2021 @ 9:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Singapore-based SME finance platform Validus has announced the appointment of Alfred Aloysius as Head of Strategic Alliances. According to Validus, Aloysius has more than 25 years of supply chain experience having previously held management positions as Chief Procurement Officer at SMRT Corporation, and VP of… Read More