Asia

January 24, 2021 @ 1:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

QCP Capital, which is one of Asia’s major digital economy traders, has noted that the “broad price puke” from January 21, 2021 (Thursday) in the cryptocurrency markets can (at least partially) be blamed on “some negative headlines” out of US President Biden’s new “crypto unfriendly”… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 9:38 am By Xu Gao  |  

Meituan to Close its Mutual Aid Platform On January 15th, China’s leading on-demand food delivery platform Meituan announced that it would close its mutual aid platform at the end of this month. Meituan launched this program in June 2019, providing a basic health plan covering… Read More

January 22, 2021 @ 8:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent report released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has outlined various case studies and insights from banking institutions that have implemented different technologies to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of their AML/CFT requirements. The HKMA’s report identifies key opportunities that regulatory technology… Read More

January 21, 2021 @ 10:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mumbai-based 5paisa, a one-stop shop for quality research and low-cost and “cutting-edge” trading platforms, notes that last year, there were relatively few IPO listings, but there was still a lot of participation on Dalal Street (which is the address of the Bombay Stock Exchange and… Read More

January 21, 2021 @ 9:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Bit.com, which claims to be a secure and “high-performance” cryptocurrency derivatives exchange introduced by Matrixport, will reportedly be offering Bitcoin Cash (BCH) perpetual swaps and options. As mentioned in a release shared with Crowdfund Insider, the Bitcoin Cash option trading is scheduled… Read More

January 20, 2021 @ 4:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

PPRO, a payments as a service provider based in London, has raised $180 million in financing led by Eurazeo Growth, Sprints, Wellington, and “one of the world’s largest asset managers” who remains unnamed. This most recent funding round arrives after six months when the company… Read More

January 20, 2021 @ 12:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services are being widely-adopted in Southeast Asia. BNPL service providers allow consumers to pay for products via flexible instalment plans. Major Fintechs offering BNPL options in the Southeast Asian region include Grab, GoJek, Razer, Oriente, among others. BNPL lets people… Read More

January 19, 2021 @ 11:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

US-based Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR), a global Fintech firm, has confirmed the appointment of David Ingleson as the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the APAC region, effective immediately. Ingleson’s appointment was reportedly made to address the rising demand for providing technology solutions to Asia-Pacific… Read More

January 19, 2021 @ 10:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments company GHL has reportedly expanded its line of products and services to include road tax and vehicle insurance renewal options. GHL’s new services are being introduced after it announced a partnership with Malaysia’s Loanstreet, an established financial marketplace. Following the launch of GROW by… Read More

January 19, 2021 @ 12:08 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Volopay, a Singapore-based fintech startup, announced on Tuesday it secured $2.1 million through its Seed funding round, which was led by Tinder Founder, Justin Mateen, with participation from Soma Capital, CP Ventures, Y Combinator, VentureSouq, and Razorpay Founders. Founded in 2019, Volopay describes itself… Read More

January 18, 2021 @ 11:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A third or around 33% of households in India are now using digital payments, with usage being evenly spread across different income groups, according to a survey performed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (Price). The… Read More

January 18, 2021 @ 10:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s central bank and financial regulator, is encouraging the country’s residents to use e-hong baos, which are monetary gifts handed out in envelopes, during the upcoming Lunar New Year. Singapore’s Association of Banks (ABS) said it would be… Read More

January 18, 2021 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan has introduced a state-managed instant digital payments platform in order to promote greater financial inclusion. The new online payments system, Raast, has been launched to support women who might have been financially marginalized or unable to access modern financial services for a long time…. Read More

January 18, 2021 @ 11:31 am By JD Alois  |  

Southeast Asian Fintech Grab may pursue an initial public offering (IPO) during 2021, according to a report. Fintech is expected to be a hot sector for initial public offers this year with two already being completed. Last week, Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) blew the doors off its IPO…. Read More

January 17, 2021 @ 7:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CIMB Bank Philippines, which aims to transform the Filipino banking experience with its all-digital, mobile-first bank, “offering 24/7 safe and secure banking, bank account opening in just 10 minutes through smartphones,” is reporting that it has managed to double its deposit customer base. Launched in… Read More

January 17, 2021 @ 6:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

There have reportedly been massive blackouts and smog that have hit several cities in Iran. It’s being described as quite a toxic mix as the nation, which is facing serious economic challenges and crippling US-led sanctions, is now also having to deal with the region’s… Read More

January 17, 2021 @ 9:25 am By Xu Gao  |  

The Peoples Bank of China Issues the “Administrative Measures for Credit Investigation (Draft for Comment)” On January 11th, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) issued the “Administrative Measures for Credit Investigation (Draft for Comment)” (hereinafter referred to as “Measures”). The seven-chapters of the document covered… Read More

January 16, 2021 @ 10:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Fintech Alliance in the Philippines, which aims to support the nation’s economic and social development goals, has teamed up with 43 other private business organizations in the country in order to express their support for the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE)… Read More

January 15, 2021 @ 9:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnam’s digital wallet provider MoMo reveals that it has secured $100 million in capital via its Series D funding round, which was co-led by Goodwater, a Silicon Valley-based fund, and Warburg Pincus. New investors also made contributions to MoMo’s investment round, including Kora Management and… Read More

January 15, 2021 @ 9:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Standard Chartered has teamed up with Indonesia’s Bukalapak in order to offer digital banking services which will be hosted via the Nexus platform, an established Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution by SC Ventures. Standard Chartered and Bukalapak will be working closely so that they can provide innovation… Read More