Asia

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

May 9, 2020 @ 12:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-based Bixin Global, a cryptocurrency-focused company, has introduced what it calls a “fund of funds” (FOF), which has been financed with 6,600 Bitcoin (BTC), an amount valued at more than $65 million at the time of writing. As mentioned in a May 8, 2020,… Read More

May 8, 2020 @ 12:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitmain, the top hardware producer for crypto-mining, is in the midst of chaos according to multiple reports. The company posted a statement today attempting to clarify company representation (translated): Beijing Bitmain Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Beijing Bit”) is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise,… Read More

May 7, 2020 @ 11:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) top regulatory authorities have asked local businesses to leverage the latest Fintech solutions to counter anti-money laundering (AML) and other types of illicit financial activities. The advisory was issued by the nation’s reserve bank, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice,… Read More

May 7, 2020 @ 10:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court made a public announcement on May 6, 2020, about an appeal involving a Bitcoin (BTC) foreign property damage compensation dispute. The second Court trial’s investigation into the matter confirmed that Bitcoin may be considered a digital asset. Therefore,… Read More

May 7, 2020 @ 6:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Viva Republica Ltd., a company that manages Toss, one of the largest South Korean Fintech firms, is reportedly planning to secure around $200 million in additional funding from investors. This, after acquiring $64 million in August 2019. The company says the funds will be used… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 9:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Nium revealed on May 5, 2020 that it had managed to secure a new round of equity funding. The company’s round received contributions from new investors BRI Inventures, the corporate venture division of Bank BRI of Indonesia, and payments giant Visa. Nium’s latest… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 7:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based digital security firm V-Key announced on May 5, 2020, that it will be the official mobile security partner of TONIK Bank, which is an all-digital bank that is expected to launch in the Philippines later this year. V-Key will aim to offer a secure… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 8:20 am By JD Alois  |  

CoinSwitch, an aggregator of cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced the launch of a dedicated cryptocurrency exchange for India. The announcement follows recent changes in India that enabled crypto exchanges to have relationships with banks. India is, of course, a huge market with profound potential for growth…. Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 3:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Li Lihui, the former president of the Bank of China, claims that the nation’s highly-anticipated virtual yuan will be launching soon. Lihui has argued that the digital renminbi could potentially replace cash. The central bank digital yuan, or CBDC, is still in its testing phase… Read More

May 6, 2020 @ 1:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

London-based IHS Markit, a global information provider established in 2016 with the merger of IHS Inc. and Markit Ltd., has acquired Catena Technologies, a Singapore-based regulatory trade reporting company. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been shared publicly. Founded in 2002, Catena served as… Read More

May 5, 2020 @ 11:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ZA Bank, the first digital bank to officially launch in Hong Kong, has decided to expand its line of products and services by offering insurance. This, soon after ZA Bank acquired a digital-only insurer license from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority under its Fast Track… Read More

May 5, 2020 @ 11:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s central bank and financial regulator,  confirmed recently that it would be supporting the inaugural G20 TechSprint initiative, which has been introduced by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and the Saudi G20 Presidency on the… Read More

May 5, 2020 @ 8:28 am By JD Alois  |  

While more traditional financial services firms are regularly spoofed two emerging Hong Kong virtual banks have recently been targeted by scammers. Both ZA Bank and Airstar Bank have seen bogus sites posted online in an attempt to fleece unsuspecting consumers. This past weekend, Airstar posted… Read More