Asia

South Korea Card Payments Projected to Reach $1.1T by 2029, Report Reveals

The South Korean card payments market is now expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% over 2025-29 to reach KRW1,510.2 trillion ($1.1 trillion) by the year 2029, supported and enabled by high card penetration, steady payment infrastructure, and government backing… Read More

Wizz Financial and Aditum Introduce Gold backed Private Credit Strategy

Wizz Financial, the Abu Dhabi-based global fintech group specializing in cross-border payments and digital wallets, in partnership with Aditum Investment Management Limited, announced the launch of MENA and India’s first gold-backed private credit strategy, fully regulated under India’s RBI framework and available via UAE-based FIs…. Read More

HKMA, Banks Roll Out Emergency Relief for Tai Po Fire Residents

Hong Kong’s banking industry has rolled out a package of emergency relief measures for residents affected by a No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po, including a six-month repayment grace period on mortgages and other consumer loans, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said. The… Read More

Ripple’s Stablecoin RLUSD Now an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token for Use within Abu Dhabi’s ADGM

Ripple, a financial technology company that offers crypto solutions for businesses, announced that its USD-backed stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD) has been recognized as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token by Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), enabling use within the ADGM, the international financial centre of… Read More

InvestGB, Arrow Global Partner to Expand Client Access to European Asset-Backed Investments

In line and consistent with its vision to collaborate with global investment managers to diversify its global platform and provide investment solutions to clients in Kuwait, Gulf Capital Investment Company KSCC “InvestGB”, the investment arm of Gulf Bank, has entered into a partnership with Arrow… Read More

Fintech Firm FinFan Teams Up with Thunes to Support Vietnam’s Cross-Border Remittance Ecosystem

FinFan, a Vietnam-based fintech company specializing in comprehensive cross-border remittance technology solutions, and Thunes, the so-called Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a collab that is said to be aimed at advancing the development of… Read More

Swiss Wealth Management Firm Julius Baer Announces Business Expansion in Abu Dhabi

Julius Baer announces its expansion into Abu Dhabi with the establishment of an Advisory Office that is based in ADGM, currently being subject to final regulatory approvals. The new legal entity, Julius Baer (Abu Dhabi) Ltd., will aim to cater to ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), family offices,… Read More

Tabi Chain’s Mori Xu Wants to Redefine Consumer Finance

Tabi Chain co-founder Mori Xu believes her blockchain infrastructure will redefine consumer finance through on-chain identity and decentralized payments. She shares her thoughts on how Tabi Chain addresses long-standing consumer finance issues, including those in emerging markets. 1) Start by sharing a bit about your… Read More

Animoca Brands Obtains In-Principle Approval from ADGM’s FSRA

Animoca Brands announced it has received in-principle approval (IPA) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, the international financial center of Abu Dhabi, the Capital of the UAE, to operate as a regulated Fund Manager. Currently subject to the fulfillment of conditions and… Read More

Monetary Authority of Singapore Announces Completion of Equities Market Review

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the completion of the Equities Market Review Group’s review and release of its final report. Key measures announced to strengthen the competitiveness of Singapore’s equities market: The establishment of a dual listing bridge connecting the Singapore Exchange (SGX)… Read More

Alpaca Introduces US Stock Execution Service for Japan’s SBI Securities

Alpaca, a global enabler of tokenization and brokerage infrastructure APIs providing access to options, stocks, ETFs, fixed income, and crypto, announced the roll-out of US stock execution service for SBI SECURITIES Co. Ltd, Japan’s online brokerage firm. This provides options for US stock execution and… Read More

Grab, StraitsX to Explore Web3 Wallet and Stablecoin Settlement for Asian Payments

Grab Holdings and Singapore-based stablecoin issuer StraitsX have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore building Web3-linked wallets and a stablecoin settlement network, the companies said. The partnership could let Grab users pay merchants across Asian markets using regulated digital tokens, per the announcement. Under… Read More

Animoca Brands, Hang Feng Technology Innovation Aim to Enable RWA Tokenization Ecosystem

Hang Feng Technology Innovation Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: FOFO), a Cayman Islands holding company providing corporate management consulting and asset management services, and Animoca Brands, a global enabler of Web3 and digital property rights, announced that they entered into a “non-binding” memorandum of understanding for a… Read More

Philippines to Tighten Monitoring of Corporate-Financial Links

Philippine financial regulators will begin a comprehensive mapping of corporate linkages across the economy next year, as regulators watch property prices and credit growth, the Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) said. The inter-agency body, chaired by central bank governor Eli Remolona, made the project a… Read More

Hex Trust, Fireblocks Partner to Support Digital Asset Custody Solutions in Asia, Middle East

Hex Trust, which claims to be a regulated digital assets financial institution, announced a partnership with Fireblocks, an enterprise platform for secure digital asset custody, settlement, trading operations, and stablecoin payments. This collab now positions Hex Trust as a key Qualified Custodian in the Fireblocks… Read More

SGX, Nasdaq Set Dual-Listing Bridge to Court Asian Growth Firms

SGX Group and Nasdaq have agreed to build a cross-border “Global Listing Board” that would let large companies list in Singapore and the United States using a more unified process, as the city-state tries to revive a stock market that has struggled to attract high-growth… Read More

ERP Fintech Tailor Completes Series A, Has Raised $37M to Date

Tailor, the headless ERP platform enabling modern retail and e-commerce brands to build fully composable business systems, has completed its Series A funding round, bringing total investment to $37 million. “We’re grateful to our investors and customers who share our belief that ERP should be composable and… Read More

India’s Central Bank Stays Cautious on Crypto as it Reviews Financial Rulebook

India’s central bank is taking a “very cautious” stance on cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, arguing that their volatility and potential to bypass safeguards could threaten financial stability, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said. Malhotra’s remarks, delivered in a memorial lecture at Delhi School… Read More

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) to Acquire Stake in Holding Co. of CMU OmniClear

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce that it entered into agreements in order to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the holding company of CMU OmniClear Limited, as the financial market infrastructure operators strengthen their partnership to advance the… Read More

First Abu Dhabi Bank to Enable Real-Time Payments Across Middle East

Thunes, the so-called Smart Superhighway to move money across the globe, announced that First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s Global bank, and one of the world’s largest financial institutions, has reportedly selected Thunes as its provider to support international mobile wallet payouts via its… Read More

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