Asia

January 25, 2021 @ 8:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lendahand, a Netherlands-based for-profit crowdfunding platform for impact investing, announced over the weekend that it has agreed to provide Singapore-based Funding Societies with an up to €5 million debt facility to invest in underserved SMEs, predominantly in Indonesia, but also including Singapore and Malaysia. Lendahand reported… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 10:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard has partnered with UAE-headquartered PSP Network International in order to introduce a digital platform with the goal of promoting the adoption of virtual payments across the MENA region. With this new digital platform going live this month, Network International plans to help its customers… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 8:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

GBG, a global identity data intelligence provider for businesses, has reportedly launched a dedicated Intelligence Center. The Center is meant for organizations to better or more accurately validate, verify and assess user profiles, behaviors, and the intent of individuals and entities across branch, web, mobile,… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 8:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TNG Digital, the digital wallet provider that was launched via a joint initiative between CIMB Bank and China’s Ant Financial (now Ant Group), is reportedly planning to secure $150 million in capital according to a recent report from Reuters. The Malaysian digital wallet operator, owned… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 7:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based iSTOX, a blockchain-powered digitized securities platform, has finalized a $50 million Series A funding round with participation from two state-backed investors based in Japan. As noted by the company’s management: “iSTOX is a future-ready capital markets platform set to usher in a new era… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 4:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based Split, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform, recently revealed that it had handled RM 10 million (appr. $2.47 million) in total transactions for local businesses within months. Split allows merchants to provide up to 3 interest-free installments to their clients, who are able… Read More

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