Asia

May 13, 2020 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), AMTD Group (NYSE: HKIB; SGX: HKB) and AMTD Foundation have joined in announcing a S$ 6 million “MAS-SFA-AMTD Fintech Solidarity Grant.” The new grant is designed to support Singapore based Fintech firms during the Coronavirus… Read More

May 13, 2020 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Fintech TransferWise recently revealed that customers can now send money instantly to several developing economies in Asia including Pakistan, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The TransferWise team noted: “In the past, if you were sending money to Thailand (THB), Pakistan (PKR), or Sri Lanka (LKR)… Read More

May 13, 2020 @ 8:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Molinari Media, the recent acquirer of FINTECH TV, and the Asia Times Financial (ATF), have announced a co-branding and content creation and distribution alliance, according to a company release. Last month, it was announced that Molinari Media had acquired UK based Fintech Worldwide. Molinari Media… Read More

May 12, 2020 @ 11:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sindhuja Microcredit, a digital and rural-focused micro finance service provider that aims to help women entrepreneurs, is planning to secure $8.7 million in capital through a Series B investment round. The investment will be reportedly be made by Norway’s Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Carpediem… Read More

May 12, 2020 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Standard Chartered Bank has introduced a wide range of self-service requests for customers based in India. The new services will be available via the Standard Chartered Mobile app and through the institution’s online banking portal. Standard Chartered bank’s customers in India will now be able… Read More

May 12, 2020 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

This should come as no surprise but Q1 was horrible for VC-backed Fintechs as the Coronavirus pounded private capital markets and crash-landed the once robust market. According to CBInsights, the first quarter of 2020 was one of the worst quarters for Fintech funding in years…. Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  In March, it was reported that CoinDCX had secured $3 million in funding through a Series A investment round, led by Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX) operator, HDR Group. At that time, Sumit Gupta, co-founder and CEO at CoinDCX, said the crypto space in India was developing… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 9:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based digital bank RazorPay announced on May 11, 2020 that it’s planning to recruit more staff members for key positions across its engineering and product design teams. As previously reported, the banking challenger had revealed that there had been a significant increase in the number… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 2:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers of the Loom Network, a platform-as-as-service blockchain initiative, seemed to have abandoned their project or become inactive. However, representatives from Loom reportedly told Cointelegraph that the project is not “dead,” as several social media users and community members had claimed. After CEO Matthew… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 2:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Fintech firm Spotii has introduced its shop now (or buy now) pay later platform. The credit is provided at “no interest, no cost.” Spotii has teamed up with various online merchants, allowing them to provide four “cost-free” installments to customers when… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 12:44 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced on Monday it has secured a $100 million direct insurance policy led by Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s Syndicate 2012. The platform reported that this is the largest coverage that Crypto.com has secured for its cold storage assets on custodial… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 9:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland-based UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG), a global investment bank and financial services firm with around $1 trillion in assets, recently confirmed that it is planning to launch a digital banking platform that would reduce operational costs and stimulate growth. However, UBS said its plan… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 8:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Japan is reportedly planning to ease its investment rules and requirements, in order to make it more convenient for banks to invest in Fintech companies. The country is hoping that more relaxed investment guidelines will promote the local lending industry. The lenient policies should help… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 7:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Turkish Fintech firm Figopara confirmed on May 7, 2020, that it has secured $1 million in funding from its second investment round. Existing investors World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Turkish angel investor Revo Capital took part in Figopora’s latest round. Founding partners Ahmet… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 6:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar’s central bank (QCB) has proposed a second strategic plan which involves establishing clear policies that aim to support venture capital funding and the development of SMEs, according to Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud al-Thani, the governor at QCB. The Qatar Development Bank (QDB), a local… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 6:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

David Parker, co-chief investment officer at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (an organization responsible for attracting inward investment into the Kingdom for key areas such as technology development and supporting the local financial and banking industry), recently confirmed that the country aims to position itself… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 6:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PT Cashlez Worldwide Indonesia, which is reportedly the nation’s first Fintech payment company to be publicly listed, saw its share price increase from Rp 350 (appr. $0.23) to Rp 384 within minutes after trading began on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Cashlez said it will… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 4:25 pm By Xu Gao  |  

“Financial Innovation and Development Open Courses” launched on WeiyangX.com This week, WeiyangX.com launched a new series of financial open courses. Under the guidance of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Work, the “Financial Innovation and Development Open Course” is hosted by PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 1:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paytm Payments Bank, a new type of bank, licensed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a payments service provider, recently revealed that it has surpassed INR 600 Crores (appr. $79.4 million) in fixed deposit (FD) accounts, which have been maintained through a partnership… Read More

May 9, 2020 @ 1:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based digital payments platform Simpl has reported a significant increase in transaction volume for online orders of daily essentials. The company claims there has been a 30-35% increase in the number of transactions involving the purchase of essential items. The change in consumer spending habits… Read More