Asia

June 21, 2021 @ 7:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at BitOoda, a global digital asset financial technology and services platform offering risk management solutions, recently noted that the Bitcoin market is continuing its consolidation pattern. As mentioned in an update from BitOoda, $30,000 has “proved to be a support level for now.”… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Earlier this week, Singapore-headquartered digital wealth management service provider Endowus confirmed that it had appointed Wei Mei Tan as its Chief Advisory Officer. In her role at Endowus, Wei Mei will be expected to lead strategic initiatives in order to accelerate the company’s ongoing growth… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 9:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Brankas, an Open Banking services provider, recently revealed that it has managed to exceed 10 million monthly API calls with more than 80 network partners. The Brankas platform currently operates in over six different countries and has teamed up with over 30 financial institutions… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 8:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Finantier, an open finance API platform, has secured an undisclosed 7-figure sum through a seed round that was led by Global Founders Capital and East Ventures. Finantier’s latest investment round was oversubscribed. The capital was raised at a post-money valuation of over 20 times… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 7:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore‘s United Overseas Bank (UOB), a multinational banking organization with branches mostly based in Southeast Asian countries, has reportedly used Marketnode’s digital asset issuance, depository and servicing platform to issue a new bond offering valued at SGD 600 million (appr. $446 million), with a final… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 5:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gururam-headquartered Insurtech firm RenewBuy has acquired $45 million in capital through a Series C round that was led by Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund that’s overseen by UK-based Apis Partners LLP, a fund manager that focuses on growth-stage Fintechs. Haitong Securities served… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 4:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) recently revealed that they’ve introduced a cross-border QR payment linkage between the two countries. Under this linkage, both consumers and merchants residing in Malaysia and Thailand can make and receive instant, cross-border QR code payments…. Read More

June 19, 2021 @ 8:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ICICI Bank Ltd, a privately-owned Indian development finance institution with its registered office in Vadodara, Gujarat, and corporate office in Mumbai, Maharashtra, has launched “ICICI STACK for Corporates,” which is described as a complete set of digital banking services for corporates and their promoters, group… Read More

June 19, 2021 @ 3:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-based digital technology park Cyberport has revealed that the application stage for the initial phase of its Fintech Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Subsidy Scheme has now closed. The initiative reportedly received more than 80 applications. The scheme has been commissioned by the Financial Services and the… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V) has confirmed the appointment of Dr. Saeeda Jaffar as Group Country Manager, and SVP for its operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Dr. Jaffar will reportedly be joining the digital payments leader to manage and oversee its presence in six… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 7:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Amazon Payment Services, a payment processing service for the MENA region, has introduced the Amazon Fintech Lab in the DIFC Innovation Hub. The project is reportedly the latest in Amazon Payment Services’ efforts to provide support to the Fintech ecosystem in the MENA region. The… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 12:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) has partnered with R3 to build and test central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). CBDCs have emerged as a hot topic of governmental innovation – fueled in part by the rise of stablecoins utilized as digital references of fiat currency…. Read More

June 16, 2021 @ 11:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Small and micro businesses (SMBs) account for over 90% of global businesses, and more than half or around 50% of global employment, and contribute over 60% of the GDP of developing nations, the Visa (NYSE:V) team writes in a blog post. However, 2020 was quite… Read More

June 16, 2021 @ 10:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Igloo, previously doing business as “Axinan”, is said to be the first full-stack Insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. Currently, Igloo has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Igloo has distributed a note claiming 3X growth in GWP [gross written premiums] in… Read More

June 15, 2021 @ 11:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

WeLab Bank, a homegrown digital bank that has been authorized by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), reveals that it’s offering its customers Apple Pay, which is described as a safe, secure and private way to make payments. It allows clients to not have to… Read More

June 15, 2021 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IFIN (Islamic Finance Initiation Network), the Islamic Fintech firm, has introduced its operations in the Sultanate of Oman by teaming up with Alizz Islamic Bank and Danube Home. Bahrain-based IFIN, a company that digitally connects Islamic finance service providers to retail outlets, aims to offer… Read More

June 15, 2021 @ 6:06 pm By Priyanka Pani  |  

South-East Asia’s largest automotive marketplace Carro is the newest Unicorn in the region. A full-stack service for all aspects of car ownership, Carro has raised USD $360 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund.  Indonesian fund EV Growth and insurance… Read More

June 14, 2021 @ 11:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Nomura has reportedly chosen Refintiv, a multinational provider of financial market data and infrastructure, in order to leverage the Fintech firm’s wealth management solutions across Hong Kong and Singapore. The Refinitiv Workspace for Wealth Advisors will be used as the main platform to provide up-to-date… Read More

June 14, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BC Technology Group, a digital asset and Fintech-focused firm as well as the parent of OSL, has acquired a $70 million (appr. HKD 543.19 million) investment from Singapore’s GIC, the city-state’s sovereign wealth fund. BC Technology Group says it’s planning to further develop and improve… Read More

June 14, 2021 @ 10:00 pm By Priyanka Pani  |  

Alibaba-backed Indian major Fintech major Paytm is reported to be in talks with a few domestic payment gateways for a possible acquisition as it firms up its strategy to go public this year. Paytm, owned by financial services firm One97, plans a $3 billion initial… Read More