Asia

April 13, 2021 @ 12:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

DBS (SGX:D05)/POSB retail clients are now able to access a new feature offered via DBS’ AI-enhanced financial and retirement planning tool, called NAV Planner, which will aim to offer specific investment recommendations that are well-suited for different investment profiles and requirements. Evy Wee, Head of… Read More

April 12, 2021 @ 11:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based Findeed, a consumer-focused Fintech firm, has acquired seed funding from Venture Highway and Anicut Angel Fund, along with contributions from First Cheque. The capital will be used for recruiting new talent and supporting the firm’s ongoing growth and development. Launched in July 2019 by… Read More

April 12, 2021 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

RinggitPlus, a financial marketplace that’s owned by Jirnexu, has introduced RinggitPlus Advance, which is a one-to-one digital financial planning service for Malaysian residents. As noted by its management: “RinggitPlus is Malaysia’s leading financial comparison website. Everyday we help thousands of Malaysians #GetMore for their money…. Read More

April 12, 2021 @ 10:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Accelerating Asia has announced the fourth cohort of its flagship 100-day program for pre-Series A startups. According to a release, the 11 startups have raised over S$6 million coming into the program. The 11 new portfolio companies cover ten verticals and include companies from Singapore,… Read More

April 12, 2021 @ 10:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Just six months into its launch, Maybank SME Digital Financing has reportedly cleared RM1 billion (appr. $240 million) worth of financing, serving over 8,200 SMEs, of which around 85% or 6,950 are startups and micro-enterprises based in Malaysia. Maybank stated that all applications that were… Read More

April 11, 2021 @ 5:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ten high-potential technology firms have reportedly been chosen for 11th Annual Fintech Innovation Lab New York. As noted in the announcement (published on April 7, 2021), Fintech solutions aim to leverage AI and advanced data analytics to “address key industry challenges including sustainability.” As mentioned… Read More

April 11, 2021 @ 4:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CurrencyFair, a cross-border payments solution provider, and Assembly Payments, whose platform aims to fully automate complex payment workflows, recently revealed that they’ve merged operations as part of a strategic investment from Standard Chartered (which is subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearance). As noted by… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 9:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ZA Tech Global Limited, the technology venture established by ZA International and supported by Softbank’s Vision Fund 1, revealed on Friday (April 9, 2021) that it’s launching its Asia Fintech Center (AFC) in Singapore. The new center will focus on financial services innovation projects and… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 8:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ping An OneConnect Bank (PAOB) recently revealed that it has teamed up with JETCO in order to provide cardless ATM withdrawal services. PAOB clients will now have the option to make cash withdrawals from over 1,700 JETCO ATM machines based in Hong Kong. Customers may… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 7:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

StashAway, a digital wealth management solution provider, recently revealed that it will be offering services to Hong Kong consumers. The firm’s management confirmed that it’s now licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). StashAway is a digital investment platform that offers “intelligent” asset allocation… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Huobi Group, a leading blockchain firm, recently announced that its “philanthropic” division Huobi Charity Limited (regulated by the Charity Commissioners of Gibraltar – registration no. 324) is committing $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and fiat currency to UNICEF. The funds will be used to “help… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 8:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech funding has really picked up in 2021. It’s estimated to have already reached $15 billion during the first quarter, according to CB Insights data. In Asia, Fintech-related investments are on track to exceed $2.6 billion, which is notably the continent’s highest quarterly total since… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 7:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Qudian Inc. (NYSE: QD), an established technology platform that aims to improve the online consumer finance experience for Chinese consumers, recently revealed its “unaudited” financial results for the quarter and full year that ended on December 31, 2020. As noted in a release by the… Read More

April 9, 2021 @ 8:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Western Union, a leading provider of cross-border, cross-currency money transfer services, is teaming up with Pakistan’s Faysal Bank in order to improve its real-time bank account transaction network. Receivers of global money transfers in Pakistan can take advantage of Western Union’s real-time account payout feature… Read More

April 9, 2021 @ 7:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital security platform iSTOX has acquired a stake in the Mapletree MERIT Fund and turned them into digital securities that provide individual accredited investors partial access to the fund or Mapletree Europe Income Trust. Last month, iSTOX announced it had tokenized Astrea VI private equity… Read More

April 9, 2021 @ 9:59 am By JD Alois  |  

In a move to boost clients, ZA Bank has launched a personal loan with a fixed rate of 1.99% APR. Additionally, new users can get HKD 400 cash rewards upon successful application at the virtual bank. ZA Bank says the program is part of its… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 11:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Axiata Group and Telenor Asia revealed on Thursday (April 8, 2021) that they’ve revisted and confirmed their merger plans involving Celcom and Digi. At present, the deal is in advanced discussions. Malaysian telecoms company Axiata Group Bhd and Norway-based Telenor ASA will be focused on… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Finder, a Fintech firm established in Australia back in 2006, has reportedy acquired the GoBear brand as it focuses on its international expansion plans. Now live in many different countries and serving over 10 million consumers globally each month, Finder is one of the world’s… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The blockchain-based decentralized applications (dApp) industry has seen “tremendous” growth, according to a report from DappRadar. There’s been a 639% increase in active wallets across all blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT)-enabled platforms during Q1 2020. The report reveals that there were around 458,000 daily… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments giant Visa (NYSE:V) has announced that it has chosen five high-potential startups to participate in its very first Accelerator Program for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. During the next 4-6 months, the startups will be focused on developing various commercial initiatives such as new… Read More