Asia

January 10, 2021 @ 9:10 am By Xu Gao  |  

Shanghai Reveals 2nd Batch of Projects for its Fintech Sandbox On December 31st 2020, the Shanghai Fintech Innovation Supervision Pilot Working Group revealed the second batch of projects for its fintech sandbox. The 5 innovative projects focused on cutting-edge technologies such as big data, multi-party… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 5:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital payments in Saudi Arabia surged by 75% last year, as consumers increasingly began shopping online following the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, cash withdrawals from ATMs and other payment points declined 30% during the same time period. Point of sale (PoS) refers to a location where… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 12:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

US-based digital currency exchange Gemini recently welcomed Eugene Ng as the firm’s new APAC Head of Business Development. Gemini’s management confirmed on January 7, 2021 that they’re pleased to announce that Eugene Ng will be serving as the crypto firm’s Head of Business for the… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 10:07 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), the Fintech arm of Globe Telecom and operator of the country’s preferred mobile wallet in GCash, announced on Friday it has attracted fresh capital investment from ASP Philippines LP, a limited partnership fund managed by investment firm Bow Wave… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 12:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based Fintech firm Soft Space has teamed up with Japan’s GMO Financial Gate (GMO-FG), a payment service provider, in order to offer payments solutions to Japanese consumers. Through the partnership, Soft Space will be supporting the secure and seamless Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) transactions…. Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 11:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s reserve bank stated on January 6, 2021 that it will be making its monetary policy more flexible, targeted and appropriate this year. The country will begin focusing on supporting smaller companies as the Chinese economy tries to recover following the COVID-19 outbreak. The People’s… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Philippines-based digital wallet GCash reportedly reached PHP 1 trillion (appr. $20.8 billion) in total transactions for the year 2020, which represents a 254% year-over-year (YoY) increase in transfers. Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which manages GCash, is part of the portfolio firms of 917Ventures (one… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 11:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Syfe, a digital wealth management firm that’s licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has introduced the Syfe Cash+ portfolio which is the company’s cash management product. Syfe Cash+ aims to help all Singapore based consumers with growing their savings while being able to… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India’s B2B digital commerce platform Udaan has secured $280 million in funding via its extended Series D investment round from new and existing investors. Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital are listed as new investors. They’ve joined Udaan’s existing backers which reportedly includes Altimeter, DST Global,… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 10:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore’s fast-growing 1,000+ Fintech sector includes a thriving Wealthtech segment which is on track to continue growing and maturing. It’s being supported by an increased interest from local investors, strategic acquisition deals, and the growing demand for automated financial advisory services (or Robo-advisors). Many younger… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 9:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based Silent Eight, a Regtech firm that leverages AI to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing activities, has revealed that it has agreed to a multi-year partnership with HSBC which aims to assist the bank with improving its compliance measures and related operations. HSBC chose… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 12:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

US President Donald Trump has signed an order that aims to place a ban on US transactions with eight major Chinese apps – which reportedly includes Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ online wallets. Notably, this order has arrived just days before the Trump administration… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 10:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Agoda, a fast-growing online travel platform, has teamed up with Singapore-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform Atome in order to provide flexible instalment plans for accommodation bookings. These payment options will first be offered in Singapore and Malaysia, and then rolled out to several… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 8:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Like many other sectors of the global economy, the financial services industry is experiencing what many consider to be a data revolution. The international banking sector (along with other major industries) generates large amounts of user data when handling hundreds of billions of transactions. Data… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore is a jurisdiction that has worked to enable innovation in financial services. A collaborative government that encourages the financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), to enable change has created a robust Fintech ecosystem. MAS has long operated a regulatory Sandbox to help… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 10:23 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Neat, a digital bank group based in Hong Kong, announced on Tuesday it has become a member of Visa and rolled out its new Neat Visa card. This announcement comes less than six months after Neat secured an additional $4 million extension of its… Read More

January 4, 2021 @ 11:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (formed by the Reserve Bank of India) has revealed that the digital economy sector in India is expected to “double its output as early as 2025.” Digitization in India is expected to lead to “widespread economic… Read More

January 4, 2021 @ 11:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Andrew King, Head of Synechron, a digital transformation consulting firm for financial services, notes that the exponential growth in digital transactions and data, along with regulatory developments, is changing the way companies are conducting business. King pointed out in an Op-Ed published by Insurance Business… Read More

January 4, 2021 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai‘s economy is projected to grow by 4% this year, driven by the government’s (fairly) effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dubai government has taken several measures to extend support to local businesses and individuals. It also launched four stimulus packages valued at 6.8… Read More

January 4, 2021 @ 8:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Asia might be getting ready to experience a digital banking revolution. During the next few years, the continent is expected to see over 50 new digital banks that could completely transform the financial services sector. GFT’s Christopher Ortiz claims that these developments may just be… Read More