Asia

June 30, 2020 @ 9:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dennis Gao, partner of Management Consulting at KPMG Southern China, recently noted that Fintech is preparing to enter the “regulatory-driven 2.0 era,” and opportunities are now greater or outweigh potential challenges for Fintech due to COVID-19. Gao, whose comments came during “Financial Digitalization & Fintech… Read More

June 30, 2020 @ 2:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the top financial regulator in Singapore, has issued a statement indicating Wirecard AG (WDI:DE) customer funds have been parked in Singapore banks thus segregating the funds from the Wirecard implosion. Wirecard is not currently licensed by MAS as there is… Read More

June 30, 2020 @ 7:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard and EedenBull will be supporting the launch of a digital banking platform in the APAC region. The new digital bank will be serving businesses in Asia by helping them process payments in a more efficient manner. EedenBull is a Norwegian Fintech firm that has… Read More

June 30, 2020 @ 12:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital technology startups need venture capital or some other type of reliable funding to grow and expand their operations. Several foreign investors have been supporting Indonesian startups which are a critical part of the trillion-dollar economy. Investors have been investing in selected qualified Indonesian start-ups,… Read More

June 29, 2020 @ 11:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Manila has been ranked among the top 40 emerging startup ecosystems in the world, according to a new report. While neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia are higher up on the list, the Philippines has seen steady growth and development in its… Read More

June 29, 2020 @ 10:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Fintech startup ecosystem in Bahrain has been ranked among the highest in the Middle East region. The sector is also ranked near the top in terms of Islamic finance regulation, according to Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2020. The Central Bank of… Read More

June 29, 2020 @ 10:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Building Cities Beyond (BCB) Blockchain has introduced its BCB Innovation Grant. The Singapore-headquartered distributed ledger technology (DLT) developers are focused on supporting various smart city solutions. As first reported by Singapore Fintech News, BCB Blockchain confirmed that it will be awarding $15 million in grant… Read More

June 29, 2020 @ 9:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Railsbank, an Open Banking and Regtech solution provider, revealed on June 29, 2020, that it has gained Hong Kong Fintech Statrys as a new client. Statrys offers digital business accounts, advanced payment options, and forex solutions for SMEs based in Asia. It provides convenient… Read More

June 29, 2020 @ 10:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong operated Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX), the world’s largest cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform, is introducing a program that will reportedly offer special benefits to corporate clients – which may include improved security and accounting services. As mentioned on BitMEX’s website: “The BitMEX Corporate… Read More

June 28, 2020 @ 4:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IFN Islamic Fintech, a “one-stop-shop” for industry knowledge, networking and communication in the global Islamic financial technology space, revealed on June 26, 2020 that there are now at least 127 Fintech firms globally that reportedly provide a Shariah-compliant product. IFN says that it will soon… Read More

June 28, 2020 @ 3:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paxful, a leading and fast-growing peer to peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace, recently overtook  LocalBitcoins in weekly global BTC trading volume. Paxful users reportedly traded almost $39.8 million worth of Bitcoin (globally) during the week that ended June 6, 2020. Meanwhile, LocalBitcoins reported around $39.5 million… Read More

June 28, 2020 @ 12:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Core Scientific, a US-based blockchain hosting provider, has teamed up with Bitmain Technologies Inc., a leading Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment manufacturer, in order to facilitate the purchase of 17,595 units of cryptocurrency mining machines “on behalf of its growing list of hosting clients” and other… Read More

June 27, 2020 @ 5:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai is consistently ranked among the world’s leading Fintech hubs. Fintechs in Dubai have been supported by the UAE (United Arab Emirates) government which has introduced many progressive policies and regulations. In statements shared with the Khaleej Times, Arif Amiri, CEO at the Dubai International… Read More

June 27, 2020 @ 3:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Rupeek, an Indian online gold loan company, has introduced RupeekZ, a “zero contact” gold loan kiosk, in order to safely issue gold loans, following the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting economic challenges. The Fintech firm says it aims to eliminate human touch during transactions to prevent… Read More

June 27, 2020 @ 1:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Slice, a Fintech company that provides various card-based products to young people in India to help manage their credit scores, has secured $6 million in capital via a round led by Japanese venture capital firm, Gunosy. Other investors that took part in the round included… Read More

June 27, 2020 @ 11:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese firm Ebang, a leading developer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, confirmed on June 26, 2020, that it had been listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (under the EBON ticker). Notably, Ebang is only the second Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer to go public on a US… Read More

June 27, 2020 @ 10:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, a Japanese financial services holding company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo with over 82 billion JPY in annual revenue, is planning to establish a security token exchange. Tokai Tokyo, which is primarily involved in offering brokerage services via its subsidiary Tokai Tokio… Read More

June 26, 2020 @ 9:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Randy Rivera, Executive Director of FinTEx, a member-led community focused on promoting innovation and collaboration within Fintech in Qatar and the MENA region, has said that his organization continues to work with international financial services industry participants. During a June 23, 2020 virtual panel discussion… Read More

June 26, 2020 @ 4:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  The cryptocurrency market reached all-time highs of more than $800 billion during the initial coin offering (ICO) craze of 2017-2018. There were many huge scams carried out during this time, which involved seemingly promising, but too good to be true companies like BitConnect. While… Read More

June 26, 2020 @ 8:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, it was reported that Wirecard AG (WDI:DE) had initiated bankruptcy proceedings as the company attempted to stave off a complete financial collapse created by a misplaced amount of funds totaling around €1.9 billion. Allegations of profound actions of fraud immediately followed as the former… Read More