Asia

December 1, 2020 @ 3:39 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a little over a month after announcing its payment capabilities debuted in South Korea, B2B fintech-as-a-service provider Rapyd announced it has launched the capabilities in Thailand. According to Rapyd, the integrated solution is a comprehensive set of local and international payment methods that includes… Read More

November 30, 2020 @ 11:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong Fintech Buzz Index (FBI), a quarterly index that aims to represent a “quantified sentiment” of the local Fintech-focused news updates in local Chinese news media, fell to an all-time low of 93.5. The index was calculated by analyzing 1,299 news articles that… Read More

November 30, 2020 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s reserve bank and financial regulator, has revealed that eligible non-bank financial institutions (NFIs) will be able to gain direct access to the banking system’s retail payments infrastructure starting from February of next year. NFIs that are authorized to… Read More

November 30, 2020 @ 10:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Hive, the largest Fintech hub in the MENA region, entered into an agreement with Israel-based Fintech-Aviv on Saturday, November 28, 2020. Founded in 2014, Fintech Aviv aims to cater to the needs or requirements of the Israeli Fintech… Read More

November 30, 2020 @ 6:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Paymentology, a payment tech solutions provider, is reportedly working with banks and financial institutions based in the UAE and the Middle East in order to offer digital payments services. Paymentology claims that its payment services will change and improve the way customers conduct transactions… Read More

November 29, 2020 @ 11:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnam’s Fintech startup ecosystem has grown significantly between 2017 and 2020, according to a new report. There were 44 Fintech-related startups in the country in 2017 and now there are at least 123 financial technology firms, Fintech News Singapore confirmed. The number of Fintechs operating… Read More

November 29, 2020 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

During the past few years, the Fintech sector in Thailand has grown significantly. The country is now home to at least 96 Fintech startups. Thailand’s Fintech ecosystem includes companies and businesses operating in the digital payments space, blockchain or distributed ledger tech (DLT). There are… Read More

November 29, 2020 @ 9:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Online lender IN Financial through its subsidiary Cash-IN-Asia has secured S$5 million (appr. $3.74 million) in capital via an investment round that was led by Singapore’s VC venture firm DeClout Ventures. IN Financial is a Singapore-headquartered financing platform that’s enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) and… Read More

November 29, 2020 @ 7:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

​The Monetary Board in the Philippines has reportedly approved the recognition of digital banking platforms as a new bank category that’s separate and distinct from the traditional bank classifications. Regulators in the country have defined digital banks as an institution or entity that provides financial… Read More

November 29, 2020 @ 5:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ping An’s technology division OneConnect will be expanding its operations into Malaysian markets. OneConnect is notably among the few companies that have acquired a digital banking license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. OneConnect is also supporting the BEYOND consortium (in Singapore) as a key… Read More

November 29, 2020 @ 3:08 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Suzhou Will Carry Out Digital RMB experiment on Dec. 12 Suzhou will become the second Chinese city after Shenzhen to carry out a digital RMB experiment, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. On December 12th, the crypto yuan for the experiment will… Read More

November 28, 2020 @ 6:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Switzerland has emerged as a Fintech friendly jurisdiction and home to many blockchain-focused financial services firms. The country  has long been an important banking center and the Swiss government is keen to maintain its status in a world that is going through a digital transformation…. Read More

November 27, 2020 @ 7:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Kingdom of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh were recently chosen as the top Fintech ecosystems to watch closely, according to a report from research organization Startup Genome. The researchers at Startup Genome analyzed the economies and deal activities of several different countries…. Read More

November 27, 2020 @ 6:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organization for handling retail payments and settlement systems in India, has decided to issue an additional 4.63% of its equity shares to 19 new investors. These investors now also include Fintech firms and payment system providers…. Read More

November 27, 2020 @ 8:10 am By JD Alois  |  

A report claims that the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe has contacted SEC Chairman Jay Clayton regarding China’s influence in the crypto market including mining. According to the Washington Examiner, the DNI is worried that China has too much control when it… Read More

November 26, 2020 @ 4:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s plans to establish Fintech companies like Ant Group and launch IPOs in China were recently put on hold when the country’s regulators decided to make updates to regulatory requirements. As reported recently, Daniel Zhang, Chairman of Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA), noted… Read More

November 26, 2020 @ 10:18 am By JD Alois  |  

In an interview as part of the Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival taking place this week, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), discussed how Fintech or digital finance has been boosted by the COVID health crisis. Digital Transformation Menon shared that… Read More

November 26, 2020 @ 8:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm TransferWise recently announced that Indonesians and ex-pat workers will now be able to send money from Indonesia to 80 different countries, which includes Australia, Singapore, Japan, US, UK, China (Alipay) — and across Europe as well. TransferWise users are now able to send… Read More

November 25, 2020 @ 8:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Sleek has reportedly acquired $4 million in VC funding in order to develop products for the corporate services sector. Sleek’s investment round was led by SEEDS Capital, the investment division of Enterprise Singapore. Other individuals and organizations also took part in the round… Read More

November 25, 2020 @ 7:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) has noted that Fintech platforms are expected to support the rise in the number of Indonesia’s retail investors in the foreseeable future, especially as the country’s younger consumers begin to seriously explore investment options after the COVID-19 outbreak. As… Read More