Asia

July 22, 2020 @ 1:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Qatar Development Bank (QDB), an institution offering financial services, banking and loans for the development of the Middle Eastern nation’s industrial, tourism, educational, health care, (and other sectors), recently confirmed that it aims to accelerate the digital transformation of the financial services industry in… Read More

July 22, 2020 @ 9:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based Percipient, a digital banking technology firm, has reportedly secured SGD $7 million (appr. $5 million) in capital from Stat Zero, a California headquartered VC firm. Percipient said that the funds raised will be used to support the upcoming launch of the company’s “digital twin… Read More

July 22, 2020 @ 9:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Similar to just about every other annual event, InvestHK transitioned to a virtual event for this year’s StartmeupHK Festival. According to a release by the organizers, the event went quite well as it apparently attracted over 181,000 attendees in the midst of the COVID-19 health… Read More

July 21, 2020 @ 11:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cities throughout China are planning to begin testing (or already are) the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Scammers have reportedly been impersonating CBDC testing groups. Tencent QQ reports that criminals have been promoting a scam that asks unsuspecting Chinese residents to sign up for… Read More

July 21, 2020 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the nation’s central bank that’s also tasked with managing monetary policy and the regulation of financial institutions in mainland China, has reportedly added Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province, to its list of approved regions for conducting Fintech… Read More

July 21, 2020 @ 8:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Policybazaar, a digital insurance platform, is reportedly planning to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) next year at a valuation of more than $3.5 billion. If it’s successful, then it might potentially become the first of India’s major startups to carry out such a large… Read More

July 21, 2020 @ 2:39 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Funding Societies, one of the largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in Southeast Asia, announced on Tuesday it was named the winner of a Silver Stevie Award last week in the Innovation in Technology category in the seventh annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. The online lender claims… Read More

July 21, 2020 @ 9:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Private blockchain platform Blocko has been selected as one of Samsungs Blockchain Wallet D-App Sourcing Partners’ using the Aergo Blockchain. Blocko already has an existing relationship with Samsung in Korea. Blocko is a strategic technology partner for Aergo, having already deployed over 38 large-scale private… Read More

July 21, 2020 @ 9:26 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced on Monday the launch of its new smart token, BTCS. The platform now has seven smart tokens, which are ETHS, XRPS, LTCS, BCHS, BSVS, COMPS, and BTCS. According to Bithumb, basic characteristics of the smart tokens are the following:… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ney Villasenor, the VP and chief corporate affairs officer at GCash, a Fintech company that facilitates fast and secure mobile payments, has noted that there’s no doubt that COVID-19 has made Fintech services essential for people residing in the Philippines. Villasenor pointed out that cash… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 10:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Triquesta, a Singapore-based Fintech, has appointed Paul Marsh as the global head of business consulting. Additionally, Pieter Klaassen has joined Triquesta as managing director of quantitative strategies. According to a company release, these moves are part of Triquesta’s strategy to expand its collateral management capabilities… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The State of Bank of India (SBI) has again cautioned against the increasing number of fraudulent activities targeting unsuspecting bank account holders. The SBI is a multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body that’s headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Last year, it was ranked… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 9:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FintechAlliance.ph, an organization that aims to encourage collaboration and cooperation among digital finance sector participants in the Philippines, has published a handbook that outlines various standards for the Fintech industry in order to help regulators, policymakers and stakeholders understand what’s expected of them. FintechAlliance.ph noted… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 9:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The global COVID-19 crisis has forced many businesses to either shut down or make significant changes to their business models. Individuals and companies are increasingly using digital platforms and services to conduct transactions or complete routine tasks that they normally carried out at physical locations…. Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 9:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Ant Group (formerly Ant Financial) plans to execute concurrent listing on Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR market and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, according to a company release. The news of a pending initial public offering (IPO) was previously reported as word of the listing… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 7:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Maksab, a blockchain-enabled digital platform that aims to promote high growth opportunities via a virtual deal-making marketplace, has launched in Dubai.  The company notes that MENA based startups have raised over USD $659 million in the first half of 2020, a 35% increase compared to… Read More

July 20, 2020 @ 7:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia, which recently warned residents about facing lengthy prison sentences and fines for operating unlicensed Cryptocurrency ATMs, has specifically mentioned that Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange, is not authorized to offer services in the country. The Malaysian SC… Read More

July 19, 2020 @ 10:15 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced on Friday it has rolled out its new anti-phishing email feature to help protect exchange users against phishing attempts. According to Crypto.com, the anti-phishing email feature helps reinforce the platform’s  Defense in Depth approach. “With this new feature, we… Read More

July 19, 2020 @ 8:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent blog post notes that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there’s been a significant acceleration in digital banks and P2P wallet activity volume (during the first half of 2020). The blog states that the impact of the Coronavirus crisis has “disproportionately” affected the world’s… Read More

July 19, 2020 @ 7:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Japan Communications Inc., a company that engages in the provision of wireless data communication services via in-house software solutions, has partnered with Pakistan‘s Saffran Group, a multinational technology development company. Through the partnership, the companies will invest in financial technology projects in Pakistan via the… Read More