Asia

March 23, 2021 @ 9:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Payments platform Airwallex has raised an additional $100 million in an extension of its Series D funding round that brings the total to $300 million. Airwallex was valued at $2.6 billion in the round. To date, Airwallex reports having raised almost $500 million in equity… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 1:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Indian digital payments giant Paytm recently confirmed that its pleased to share that Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has been given approval for its @Paytm UPI handle from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to “enable fast and seamless payment mandates for IPO… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 12:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Islamic or Sharia-compliant Fintech services are being increasingly adopted in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and internationally as well, according to a report from Arabian Business. As reported by the news outlet, the largest transaction volumes have come from Saudi Arabia, the UAE,… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 10:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asia-based all-digital banking challenger Tonik has officially launched the first neobank in the Philippines. Tonik is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank. Tonik’s deposits will reportedly be insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). The digital banking… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 10:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at SadaPay, a Pakistan-based online payments provider, notes that when products are developed with technology at the “core of the value proposition,” the customer interactions “tend to be digital as well.” As mentioned in a blog post by the Fintech firm, the human… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 7:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and M7, a creative start-up hub that’s operated under Qatar Museums, are introducing Scale7, which is a business incubator for MENA region entrepreneurs. Scale 7 aims to support a creative and artistic ecosystem. The initiative will help Qatari entrepreneurs, local… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 10:22 am By Xu Gao  |  

China Imposes Further Restrictions on Online Consumer Loans for College Students Over the past few years, some internet finance platforms have targeted college campuses and made inductive marketing through cooperation with technology companies. Such practices led some students into excessive consumption and even debt traps…. Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 9:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Indian neobank Razorpay points out that it seems like banks have been “around forever.” In India, for example, the history of banking “dates way back to 1750 BC,” the company reveals. It also mentions that we’ve traditionally or historically been dependent on banking institutions for… Read More

March 18, 2021 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Zilliqa, a blockchain ecosystem that seeks to offer services to enterprises, has announced an annual investment fund of up to USD$ 5 million for 15 companies building on the Zilliqa blockchain. Zilliqa strives to address the shortcomings of some established blockchains by providing a robust… Read More

March 18, 2021 @ 9:23 am By JD Alois  |  

Railsbank, a Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform, has expanded into Australia in partnership with digital bank Volt. Founded in 2016, Railsbank is based in the UK and offers APIs and apps for financial services firms to offer modern services. Volt is the first digital… Read More

March 18, 2021 @ 8:47 am By JD Alois  |  

M2P Solutions- YAP has raised $10 million in a Series B funding round led by Flourish Ventures and Omidyar Network India. YAP’s existing investors—Beenext, 8i Ventures and Better Capital also participated in the financing round. Terms of the round were not disclosed. Based in Chennai,… Read More

March 17, 2021 @ 11:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

BPC Technology’s payment division, O-City, is partnering with the Philippines’ Land Bank of the Philippines to pilot the country’s digital payments in Public Utility Vehicles such as buses and jeepneys. O-CITY is expected to ensure urban transit systems are interoperable and travelers can pay seamlessly… Read More

March 17, 2021 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has confirmed that it is getting ready to work on a national virtual currency. Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the 138-year-old institution, stated that the BoJ, the nation’s reserve bank, would begin “preparing thoroughly” for a future that may include a… Read More

March 16, 2021 @ 11:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ant Group, the Fintech division of digital commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA), has made a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030. Ant Group’s management stated that to achieve the carbon neutral target within the coming decade will involve establishing a carbon… Read More

March 16, 2021 @ 11:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery giant Grab Holdings is reportedly holding discussions regarding its plans to go public via a potential merger with a US-based special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. Grab Holdings may be valued at around $53 to $54 billion if these… Read More

March 16, 2021 @ 2:30 am By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd has revealed that NTT Finance, a subsidiary of NTT Group (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone), will establish NTT Finance Israel LP in partnership with OurCrowd. According to OurCrowd, NTT Finance will initially commit $15 million for a dedicated investment program. OurCrowd will provide early access… Read More

March 15, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Validus’ subsidiary Batumbu has obtained regulatory clearance to serve as a licensed and authorized online financing platform. The approval has been given by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK). Since it first began offering services in 2019, Batumbu has reportedly issued more than S$207… Read More

March 15, 2021 @ 10:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

After the rollout of Trusple, which is AntChain’s global trade and financial services platform, DBS (SGX:D05) has confirmed that it’s the first major Asian banking institution to finalize a trade financing transaction via the platform. The digital transaction was valued at more than $40,000. The… Read More

March 15, 2021 @ 10:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based Ouch!, a digital or online insurance company, has secured RM 1.5 million (appr. $360,000) in seed funding via a round led by Vynn Capital and Temokin, along with participation from several angel investors. The Ouch! team says it will use the capital raised from… Read More

March 14, 2021 @ 9:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central bank, stated on Wednesday (March 11, 2021) that all local banking institutions should offer a set of minimum services for Internet banking and mobile banking. The SBP says it wants to encourage or promote the use… Read More